Ozaukee boys win two heading into playoffs

The Ozaukee High School boys’ basketball team closed the regular season with a pair of wins over Big East Conference opponents that stand below them in the league.

On Saturday, Ozaukee narrowly escaped host Random Lake, 62-57, in a physical contest that was rescheduled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each team had one player foul out and another finish with four fouls.

The Warriors went 16-for-23 at the  free throw line, while the Rams went 15-for-24.

“It was an ugly game,” Ozaukee coach Bob Domach said.

“Noah Miller shot well in the first half and then Random Lake double-teamed him in the second half.”

Miller scored 15 of Ozaukee’s first 17 points. He had 18 of his team-high 21 points by halftime.

“Braxton Gahan stepped it up in the second half and Noah Miller’s only three in the second half was a huge shot for us.  It was a hard-fought victory,” Domach said.

The Warriors led by as many as seven points on a number of occasions early, but the Rams battled back and led at halftime, 30-28.

Ozaukee took its first lead in the second half when Jesse Schauer nailed a three-pointer with 14 minutes left. The Warriors were up, 35-34.

After the Rams took the lead back, Miller stepped up. With 1:51 to play, Ozaukee’s all-time leading scorer tallied his only points of the second half on a three-pointer to give the Warriors a lead they would not relinquish.

Gahan made a free throw, followed by a Matt Merlo free throw for the Rams. A pair of free throws by Schauer extended the Warriors lead to 56-53 with 1:10 remaining.

Bret Hamm’s layup with 32 seconds left put the Warriors up by five points.

Merlo scored a free throw for the Rams, but Schauer answered with a pair of free throws. Merlo added a three-pointer with 3.6 ticks remaining.  Bares scored a pair of free throws to cap the scoring.

Bares had 13 points, and Gahan had 10 points and eight rebounds.

Schauer had nine points and six rebounds, and Matt Miller scored seven points, grabbed six rebounds and had five assists.

Merlo had 18 points. Jax Stange had 14 and Mitchell Spaeth had nine.

Last Thursday, the visiting Warriors earned a 71-59 victory over the 2-17 Sheboygan Christian in a game that was much closer than it looked on paper.

Seniors Noah Miller and Bares both shot 50% from beyond the arc, with Miller sinking seven and Bares six three-pointers.

“Noah and Simon really shot well. They both hit tough shots,” Domach stated.

“Sheboygan Christian is really improved from the beginning of the year. Our defensive effort fell short and we will work on that in the coming week as we get ready for the playoffs.”

The Warriors led, 36-24, at halftime and kept that lead at the end of the game.

Miller led all scorers with 27 points and six rebounds, six assists and four steals.

Heading into the playoffs, Miller holds the all-time scoring record at Ozaukee with 1,562 points.

Bares had 20 points. Gahan scored 10 points and had six rebounds.

Matt Miller scored 10 points and Schauer had eight assists and six rebounds.

Sheboygan Christian leaders included Noah Heinen with 19 points, Sam Hendrikse with 14 and Josiah Stecker with 11.

Ozaukee finished the regular season 13-7 overall, 12-7 in the Big East Conference South Division, good for third place behind Oostburg and Sheboygan Lutheran.

The No. 2-seeded Warriors have a bye in the first round of the Division 4 playoffs. On Friday, they No. 3-seeded Kohler, which on Tuesday beat No. 6-seeded Princeton/Green Lake. Ozaukee swept Kohler during the regular season.

The winner faces the winner of No. 1-seeded Sheboygan Lutheran and No. 4-seeded Pardeeville on Saturday.

Peiffer, Ketterhagen come through late

In a final tuneup for the playoffs, the Cedar Grove-Belgium boys lost a lead late at home against Big East foe Kohler last Thursday, then got it back when it counted most.

Down 41-40, Sam Peiffer drew a foul on a drive to the basket and calmly drained two free throws to give the Rockets the lead for good with 38.6 seconds left.

Kohler was then called for traveling and Logan Ketterhagen got fouled. The Rockets were in the bonus, and Ketterhagen swished the first free throw to earn a second, then sent that shot through the net as well.

A last-second three-point attempt by Kohler was an air ball, and the Rockets held on.

“It was a good game. In the end, we came up clutch,” Ketterhagen said.

“We hit the shots when we needed to,” Peiffer said. “I don’t feel the pressure too much. Take deep breaths and hit the shots.”

Peiffer led the team with 23 points on 9-for18 shooting from the field, and he grabbed eight rebounds. Ketterhagen scored 10 points.  Parker Knight had six rebounds.

Tanner Coenen scored 16 points to lead Kohler. Cooper Zielke scored 10.

The No. 3-seeded Rockets lost on Tuesday to No. 6-seeded New Holstein in first round of the Division 3 playoffs.

New Holstein plays at No. 2-seeded Kiel on Friday.

The Rockets finished the season 11-11 overall and 10-9 in the Big East Conference South Division, good for fourth of seven teams.