Gulke leads boys’ hoops standouts

They both finished toward the bottom of the Big East Conference South, but the Cedar Grove-Belgium and Ozaukee boys’ basketball teams had some of the league’s best players.

Rockets’ guard Owen Gulke was third in the league in scoring with 19.3 points per game, and the junior was unanimously chosen to the first team, moving up from last season’s second team.

Gulke eclipsed 1,000 career points during the season and his 559 this season was second in the league.

“Owen is a phenomenal talent, truly a special player. Offensively he can just take over games and will us some points,” coach Jake Hock said.

“And he can do it on multiple offensive levels. He can catch and shoot from the perimeter, while also being elite in the midrange off the dribble. Around the rim I have only seen a few guys have the finishing ability that Owen has.”

In addition, Gulke remains cool under pressure.

“He is extremely level-headed and never gets too high or low emotionally, and is great at handling those tense moments in games. He grinds year round to better himself. He just has a love for the game of basketball that few have,” Hock said.

Gulke, standing 6 feet, 3 inches, also averaged 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

Junior guard Carter Schmitz was the Rockets’ other selection, earning a spot on the second team.

He was fifth in the league in scoring with 17.1 points per game and hit the second-most three-pointers with 67.

He had 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

“Carter took such a massive jump in his game both mentally and physically this past year from his sophomore to his junior year. He became such a vital second scoring option to Owen, which allowed Owen to have more space as well,” Hock said.

“Teams couldn’t just hone in on Owen because Carter became such a scoring threat this year, which forced teams to play a more balanced defense on us. He also developed into one of our major defenders.”

Schmitz, also the Rockets’ quarterback, took charge of the basketball team.

“He is such a natural leader and does a great job of being our captain. He also has such a knack for big moments. Many times he will hit big time shots for us in key spots. He loves those moments and wants the ball when the lights are bright,” Hock said.

Ozaukee earned three selections between the second team and honorable mention for the third straight season with a trio of new choices this year.

Sophomore Braydon Lowrance-Eischen was named to the second team after averaging 13.3 points per game, 13th in the league. The 6-5 center shot 44.1% from the field and made 25 three-pointers, shooting 38.5%. He averaged 6.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Senior Chase Mills and junior Otto Utecht earned honorable mention.

Mills, a 6-3 guard, averaged 14.8 points per game, tied for ninth in the league, and drained 50 three-pointers. He averaged 5.8 rebounds per game, 2.4 assists and was second in the league with 2.2 steals per game.

Utecht averaged 10.5 points per game and the 6-4 center was second in the league with 8.5 rebounds per game.

“We are proud of all three players that made all conference. All three guys brought something different to the table,” coach Bob Domach said.

“Chase brought scoring, Otto rebounding and Braydon an all-around balanced game both offensively and defensively. The all-conference teams were young as a whole, and Braydon and Chase are representative of the younger talent that exists in the conference. All of that young talent should make the conference competitive in the next few years.”

The Rockets went 4-8 in the league and finished fifth of seven teams but went on a playoff run that included last-second upsets of No. 2-seeded Kohler and top-seeded Roncalli before losing in the Division 4 sectional final to the Prairie School. They finished 16-13.

The Warriors were 3-9, sixth in the league, and 5-19 overall.