Oostburg overpowers Ozaukee boys

The Ozaukee High School boys’ basketball team took an early lead against last season’s defending Big East Conference champions, but tall and physical Oostburg proved to be too much down the stretch at home last Friday.

The Flying Dutchmen won 68-54, but not before the Warriors put a couple of runs together that tied the game with 11 minutes to play and kept it close late, getting within two points, 56-54, with less than six minutes to go. From there the Warriors didn’t score again.

“I think it was a combination of us running out of gas and we took some quicker shots than we like to do,” coach Bob Domach said.

But, “We don’t have any quit in us.”

Senior guard Noah Miller had 22 points and three steals, and his cousin Matt Miller had 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward Simon Bares had 10 points and six rebounds, and sophomore Chase Miller had nine points. Junior Braxton Gahan had eight rebounds, and freshman Bret Hamm had seven.

Hamm, Gahan and Bares gave up a few inches each in a fight with Oostburg’s 6 foot, 6-inch forwards Brady Wisse and Logan Brock. Wisse had 16 points and eight rebounds, and Brock had 10 points and eight rebounds.

“We’re limited with our height. I thought Bret Hamm and Braxton Gahan really battled down low,” Domach said.

Bares primarily handles Wisse, who poured in 29 in Oostburg’s season opening win over St. Mary Catholic.

“Simon Bares did a tremendous job,” Domach said.

The Warriors took a 12-7 lead early. Noah Miller had seven of those points, Chase Miller had three on a basket, foul and free throw, and Matt Miller had two.

The Flying Dutchmen then got going and built a 42-33 halftime lead. A Chase Miller three-quarters-court heave at the buzzer came close, hitting the backboard and then bouncing off the rim.

Ozaukee this season returns Noah Miller, who averaged nearly 20 points per game last year and made the Big East Conference first team. Brent Hoffmann, who averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game and made the second team, graduated. So did Logan Bell and his 7.2 points per game and Jotham Higginbothem and his 6.2 points per game, along with two other seniors.

Bares is back after averaging 9.2 points per game and is a nice combo with Noah Miller, Domach said.

“Both are terrific shooters. They will be the focal point of our offense and be the leaders on the team,” he said.

The Warriors have 11 players and lack experience, so going deep on the bench to give boys extra breaks because of the masks isn’t easy, Domach said.

Ozaukee was to host St. Mary Catholic on Tuesday, play at Sheboygan Lutheran on Thursday and host Howards Grove on Saturday.

Deb Hamm contributed to this article.