Finishing strong

Monday’s high school basketball game started just how the Cedar Grove-Belgium boys wanted and ended just how Ozaukee wished.
The Rockets took a big lead early but saw it dissipate into the sparsely attended — thanks to Covid-19 — home gym air as the Warriors came back to win, 58-41.
Senior guard Noah Miller, Ozaukee’s leader in career points for boys, netted 20 points, going 7-for-8 from the field. He had five rebounds and three assists.
The Warriors fell behind, 12-0, in the game’s first three and a half minutes. Rocket forward Logan Arrowood had three points in the run, guard Logan Ketterhagen hit three free throws after being fouled beyond the arc and Caleb Beightol and Parker Knight each hit three-pointers.
After the Warriors called timeout, they settled in, and went on a 16-2 run in the next eight minutes to take a 16-14 lead.
From there, the game was tied once at 20 on a three-pointer by Rocket Ethan Aponte on an assist from Arrowood. Jesse Schauer gave his team the lead back with a drive and bucket. Ozaukee didn’t trail the rest of the way.
“I think we just kept our cool. We didn’t get too down. We were able to fight back,” Miller said.
Ozaukee coach Bob Domach said he wasn’t worried.
“I’ve got great faith in our guys and knew we were just going to be fine. I didn’t panic. The kids didn’t panic. We just fought back possession by possession,” he said.
The game stayed close until halftime, with the Warriors up, 26-24.
Then Ozaukee turned it on.
A 12-0 run of their own to start the second half put the game away. A steal and layup by Ketterhagen with 10 minutes, 43 seconds to play were the Rockets’ first points of the second half.
Cedar Grove-Belgium coach Derek Wimmer said the game was indicative of a team that played four times in the past seven days.
“I think my guys just ran out of gas,” he said.
The Rockets came into the game without one of their top players in Sam Peiffer, who is missing time for a second stretch this season — first for an ankle injury and then because the team’s trainer tested positive for Covid-19, and Peiffer had been getting his ankle treated.
They lost another top player late in the second half when Ketterhagen went down with an ankle injury while being fouled on a drive to the basket.
Once the Warriors got the big second-half lead, Miller said they just had to finish.
“It was us versus the clock. They weren’t going to beat us. We just had to not beat ourselves,” he said.
Domach said the game was a little bit of a flip from the previous contest in which the Warriors had a little bit of a lead but Manitowoc Lutheran was stronger down the stretch.
“The good thing is we learned from that game and we learned how to play with a lead in this game and we won. We’re getting better every day and that’s our goal,” he said.
After forcing a few shots in the first half, Domach said “our offense started flowing and we were getting more shots in rhythm.”
He also liked how the team stepped up to play a tough man-to-man defense.
“We’ve been working on defense all year and all the hard work paid off in this game,” he said.
Ozaukee forward Matt Miller scored 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, had six rebounds and made four steals. Guard Jesse Schauer scored 10 points on 5-for-10 shooting and had seven rebounds. Forward Simon Bares had six rebounds, three steals and three points. Bret Hamm scored seven on 3-for-4 shooting from the field and going 1-for-2 on free throws.
Ketterhagen led the Rockets with 15 points. Arrowood had 10.
Neither team fouled often. The Rockets went 7-for-11 on free throws, and the Warriors went 3-for-5.
The Rockets (5-3) host Mishicot (0-1) on Tuesday, Dec. 29. Wimmer said Peiffer will miss that game and he isn’t sure of Ketterhagen’s status. After that, Wimmer said he is thankful the Rockets get a break until playing at Howards Grove (1-5) on Monday, Jan. 4.
Ozaukee (3-4) doesn’t play until Monday, Jan. 4, at Reedsville (6-1).
Rockets go 2-1 in busy week
On Dec. 15, the Rockets took it to their road opponent, Living Word Lutheran, in a 53-32 non-conference win.
Arrowood had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Peiffer scored 14 points and had seven rebounds. Ketterhagen had 13 points and five rebounds.
The Rockets took a 21-15 halftime lead and poured it on the second half.
“We played hard that game. We had a full team,” Wimmer said.
On Dec. 17, the Rockets were nipped at home by Manitowoc Lutheran, 55-52. They had a shot to tie at the end, but the Lancers stole the ball with six seconds left.
Arrowood had 10 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Knight had 12 points and Ketterhagen had nine.
Lancer Nathaniel Luebke, at 6 feet 6 inches tall, used his frame to score 17 points and grab eight rebounds.
The Rockets made a few turnovers and gave up some open layups in the final few minutes.
“I think we shot ourselves in the foot,” Wimmer said.
Last Saturday, the Rockets bounced back in a close game to beat St. Mary Catholic, 68-64, on the road.
Arrowood scored a season-high 32 points.
“They couldn’t stop him,” Wimmer said.
The Rockets played defense as best they could against good shooters that put up 113 points on the Warriors on Dec. 8.
“That was a huge win. We were down Sam on the road at a tough place.”
Ketterhagen had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Cole Ketterhagen had eight points, including a couple of three-pointers.
“Cole stepped up and filled in for Sam,” Wimmer said.
Ozaukee nearly goes undefeated last week
Early foul trouble for the Warriors against visiting Kohler last Thursday kept the game close, but senior leadership took over in a 56-46 win.
“It was a tough, hard-fought win. We played a complete game,” Domach said.
Noah Miller scored seven points early but picked up three fouls in the game’s opening minutes and sat the rest of the first half.
Simon Bares stepped up in his absence, scoring a season-high 20 points.
“We were in some early foul trouble. Simon Bares kept us in the game with his shooting and leadership,” Domach said.
Bares went 5-for-6 from the field, including two three-pointers, and went 4-for-4 on free throws.
With Miller on the bench, the Warriors, who had a 13-7 lead with 12 minutes, 19 seconds to play in the first half, trailed, 22-20, at halftime.
Miller returned in the second half and scored 21 more points. He also led the team with seven rebounds and didn’t commit a foul in the second half.
The Warriors led by 11 points with 12 minutes to play, but the Blue Bombers fought back to pull within four, 37-33, with 9:19 left.
A short time later, the Warriors put together a rally, with Bares scoring six in the eight-point run to put the Warriors up, 49-39 with just under three minutes to play.
Kohler was led by Charlie Roeder with 17 points and Tanner Coenen with 10.
Last Saturday, the Warriors came up just short at Manitowoc Lutheran, 57-56.
“At the end of the game we had our chances to win. We had two good shots that just didn’t fall,” Domach said.
“We had a solid defensive effort. We struggled a bit on the offensive end in the second half.”
The Lancers outrebounded Ozaukee, 41-21. Bares had five rebounds.
Luebke pulled down 12 rebounds to lead the Lancers.
The Warriors held a nine-point lead at halftime, 36-27, but couldn’t hold on.
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Wisconsin’s largest paid circulation community weekly newspaper. Serving Port Washington, Saukville, Grafton, Fredonia, Belgium, as well as Ozaukee County government. Locally owned and printed in Port Washington, Wisconsin.
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Port Washington, WI 53074
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