Boys’ hoops teams hit on hard times last week

GRAFTON’S DJ JAMES (left) and Port Washington’s Grady Karrels have been among their team’s leaders early this season. Photos by Mitch Maersch
Port Washington High School’s Grady Karrels drove to the basket and hit a last-second clutch shot to give the Pirates a one-point lead at Hartford on Dec. 17.
Unfortunately for Port, the Orioles’ Alex Kuepper answered with a buzzer-beating three-pointer for a 69-67 win.
Port coach Garrett Hoffmann said he liked Karrels’ execution. The Pirates called timeout with 10 seconds left and knew the Orioles would be switching on defense.
“It was a pretty basic sidelines out-of-bounds play. He kept the handoff and got downhill and finished right at the rim,” Karrels said.
“His bread and butter is getting downhill, playing off other guys. It was good to see him make the right play.”
Then the Orioles called timeout.
“We just kind of lost track of their guy. He got loose for a shot right at the buzzer,” Hoffmann said.
The Orioles inbounded the ball and got to the free throw line, where Port’s defense tightened. Kuepper got free at the top of the key, took a pass and fired at the last possible second for the basket to count.
Port senior guard Josh Arnold had a game-high 28 points on 11-for-20 shooting, going 5-for-11 on three-pointers. He also had six rebounds and three assists.
Karrels had 19 points on 8-for-12 shooting and four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“They’ve been carrying a lot of the load. I anticipate they will. There are some other guys looking forward to really catching their stride,” Hoffmann said, adding injuries and family trips have shrunk the lineup.
Kuepper led Hartford with 22 points. Sam Richter had 21.
“It’s a game we felt confident going into. We had a lot of self-inflicted wounds — guys making aggressive mistakes. They were out of position and trying to make plays that weren’t necessarily there,” Hoffmann said.
Last Friday, Port hosted Homestead in a 62-36 loss.
Arnold and Kyle Uselding each had eight points. Karrels had six points, five rebounds and three assists.
“I really thought we gave ourselves a lot of chances early. Just missed shots, missed opportunities and turnovers have been our Achilles’ heel,” Hoffmann said.
Homestead had about 50 points when the coaches cleared their benches with a few minutes to play, he said.
Hoffmann said guard Cal Loose, who aggravated a shoulder injury from football in a win over West Bend West on Dec. 13, is expected back in mid-to-late January.
Port, 2-4 in the North Shore Conference and 3-5 overall, plays Two Rivers at 3:30 p.m. in the Oostburg Holiday Classic on Friday and the winner of the game between Oostburg and Destiny on Saturday night.
Grafton slips in two league matches
Grafton is still trying to find itself after two losses last week.
The Black Hawks lost at West Bend West, 78-70, on Dec. 17 and at home to Hartford, 64-48, on Friday.
Against the Spartans, sophomore guard Caleb Battles had 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, going 3-for-5 on three-pointers, and had five assists and four rebounds.
Junior guard DJ James had 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting, six assists and four rebounds. Ian Cornelius had nine points, Brady Eader had eight and Jack Marti had seven.
For West, Carson Bauer had 17 points, Cullen Roell had 13, and Eddie Scott and Teagan Ongert each had 11.
Last Friday, Hartford won at Grafton, 64-48.
The Orioles took a 30-17 halftime lead. The Hawks closed the gap to 47-36 on a Battles’ jumper with nearly 10 minutes to play, but that’s as close as they would get.
“We’re learning that we cannot defend and we’ve just got to get tougher. That’s it,” coach Damon James said.
“Everything comes down to winning one-on-one battles and 50-50 balls, and we’re just not tough enough.”
The Hawks were missing leading scorer Tommy Lutz, who was on a family trip.
Kuepper led Hartford with 20 points. Ethan Webb had 15 points and Sam Richter had 14.
The Hawks, 0-6 in the NSC and 1-6 overall, host Brookfield Academy on Friday, Jan. 3, in a nonconference game.
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