Holiday games suit CG-Belgium well

It had been years since the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ basketball team entered a tournament over the holiday break.

Coach Josh Ketterhagen figured he’d give it a shot this year.

“If you don’t play well or you lose two, then you look at it like, man we should have taken off,” he said.

That wasn’t the case for the Rockets. They blew through two opponents to win the North Fond du Lac Oriole Hall of Fame Basketball Tournament last Friday and Saturday.

The Rockets rolled over overmatched North Fondy, 71-54, on Friday, and then handed Manawa its third loss of the season in a 70-44 victory.

Ethan Wonser, a 6-feet-6-inch forward, was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He scored 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting against North Fondy and 14 points on 7-for-13 shooting against

Manawa, despite the latter having a 6-6 player of their own guarding him.

“He was a beast of a kid and I thought Ethan played extremely well,” Ketterhagen said.

Guards Max Ford and Jeffery Emperley both made the all-tournament team.

For scored 10 points against the Orioles and nine against the Wolves on a combined 7-for-14 shooting. Emperley scored eight in the opener and a team-high 19 in the title game.

The Rockets jumped out to a 30-16 halftime lead against an Oriole team that lacked depth. Sam Peiffer scored 11 points and Jacob Peiffer had eight. Michael Navis scored seven to go along with a team-high seven assists. Sam Peiffer had four steals, and Navis and Emperley each had three.

Ketterhagen was more surprised about the Manawa score. The Rockets fell behind early, 11-4, before battling to take a 24-23 lead. They extended it to 35-25 at halftime. A 12-point second-half run gave the Rockets what he called a “statement win.”

“We played well top to bottom. We had a lot of kids contribute,” he said.

Matthew Voskuil scored nine points, Aaron Veldhorst eight and Navis seven. Veldhorst grabbed seven rebounds, and Navis had six. Veldhorst, Wonser and Navis each made three steals.

The balanced scoring has allowed the Rockets to excel, with different players being able to step up.

“That’s one of the fun things about this team. We’ve got depth, and I think that depth is crucial to play well,” Ketterhagen said.

The tournament victory helped the Rockets climb back over .500 at 5-4 overall. They are 2-4 in the Big East Conference and play at league foe Reedsville (3-3 Big East) on Friday. They play at non-conference foe Kewaskum on Tuesday, Jan. 8, before hosting Howards Grove (5-1) on Thursday, Jan. 10.

“I’m excited. We’re still clicking. Hopefully, we can improve on that momentum,” Ketterhagen said.