Grafton express rolls through Port

Both rivals were missing players, but that didn’t give the scoreboard operator any kind of a break when the Grafton High School boys’ basketball team visited Port Washington last Friday.

Grafton star senior guard Alex Huibregtse had a triple-double, scoring a game-high 33 points, going 7-for-14 on three-pointers, grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing out 11 assists.

Port star Evan Lilly nearly matched his scoring 32 points. The two shared a handshake and hug after the game.

Huibregtse’s passing had his teammates’ heads on swivels. No-look zips would arrive without warning.

Forward J.P. Benzschawel was the recipient of a few of those inside. He scored 14 points and had seven rebounds.

“He’s a facilitator. He’s a no-look guy,” Benzschawel said of Huibregtse.

Jacob Aleknavicius and Zach Weir each scored 13 points. Tyler Tsui added nine.

The Black Hawks’ offensive game plan is to move the ball up the court as quickly as possible, and they were running on all cylinders last Friday.

“It’s so fun,” Huibregtse said. “It’s a really fun group to play with. Putting up points like that, it’s even more fun.”

The Hawks could have easily hit triple figures but both teams emptied their benches late in the game.

The enthusiasm escalated when rarely used players such as Grafton’s Zach Dujmic and Port’s Kyle Johnson scored baskets, igniting one another’s bench and fan base.

Grafton coach Damon James said it looked more like “All-Star Weekend” given the game’s lack of defense, but he praised Huibregtse and his teammates.

“He’s finding his rhythm. Not only that he’s finding his teammates and his teammates are doing what they’re very capable of doing,” he said.

Grafton was missing star forward Brock Heffner, who James said was on “load management.” Port was missing starting guard Tamai McKoy-Jackson and starting forward Noah Melka.

The Hawks jumped out to a 24-6 lead in the first six and a half minutes and held a 50-33 lead at halftime. Port hung around, cutting the deficit to 65-55 with just less than 11 minutes left.

Port coach Brian Hebein said he was pleased his team bounced back.

“We knew we were a little undersized, undermanned, but we weren’t going to let that bother us. We were going to try to just play hard and compete,” he said. “We got a little glimpse of what we can do when we play really hard and that defensive effort carries over to the offensive side of the ball. Now you’re feeling really good about yourself, and shots start falling.”

Aedan Egan and Mikey Ross each scored 10 points for Port. Payton Lambrecht had nine.

The Hawks on Feb. 11 used a late run to top Hartford, 83-66, at home. Huibregtse had 39 points, Benzschawel had 21 and Tsui had 10.

Port lost at Cedarburg, 69-27, on Feb. 11. Hebein said his team started slowly and didn’t get on track offensively, shooting 22% for the game. McKoy-Jackson led the team with six points.

Grafton, 11-4 and third in the North Shore Conference, was to host Slinger (10-5 NSC) on Tuesday and play at NSC leader Nicolet (14-2) on Friday.

Port, 2-13 in the NSC and 3-14 overall, was to play at Homestead (9-6) on Tuesday, host Whitefish Bay (12-3) on Friday and play at nonconference foes Beaver Dam (7-11) on Saturday and at Green Bay East (3-15) on Monday, Feb. 24.