Ozaukee pulls out road playoff game

The No. 11-seeded Ozaukee High School boys’ basketball team ended its season last Friday at No. 3-seeded Howards Grove, where the Warriors lost a WIAA Division 4 regional semifinal, 82-65, to the Tigers.

“Howards Grove is a quality team,” Ozaukee coach Bob Domach said.

“They are well coached, and they have two really good players, including Miles Barnstable, the conference player of the year. We had too many turnovers and defensive lapses to stay in the game.”

Barnstable spent a good part of the first half on the bench with an injury, but returned in the second half. He finished with 17 points.

Teammate Tanner Schumacher scored a game-high 24 points.

The highlight of the game for the Warriors came in the final seconds of the first half when senior Jesse Schauer caught a high pass with one hand and tossed it toward the basket from beyond the three-point arc. The ball bounced off the backboard and into the basket as the buzzer sounded.

Domac said it is “always tough to see the seniors play their last game.

“We had to say goodbye to five this year and it’s always emotional. They were a big part of our program these last four years.”

The seniors included Schauer, Matt Miller, Braxton Gahan, Mason Norwood and Tyler Mueller.

Bret Hamm led the Warriors with 16 points. Gahan finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nehls scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds. Schauer dished out five assists.

The Tigers also beat the Warriors, 69-48, at home on Feb. 1.

Warriors come back for road playoff win

Ozaukee advanced to the semifinal with a 63-60 come-from-behind thriller over host Living Word Lutheran March 1 in a regional quarterfinal game.

The Warriors’ offense was ice cold early as the team dug a 29-15 deficit with four minutes left in the first half.

Ozaukee was able to find some offense and trailed, 33-24, at the break.

The Warriors opened the second half with baskets by Gahan and Miller to trim the deficit to 33-28.

After a Timberwolves’ basket, Hamm outscored Living Word Lutheran, 7-2, in the next 100 seconds to cut the deficit to  37-35.

The Warriors had found their offense, and with balanced scoring from Matt Miller, Gahan, Chase Miller and Connor Rennicke, they built at 10-point lead, 56-46, with 5 minutes, 14 seconds to play.

The Timberwolves weren’t finished, as they mounted their own rally and took a 60-59 lead with 65 ticks remaining.

Tyler McKnight scored seven points during the run for the home team.

Gahan scored with 12.2 seconds remaining to put Ozaukee up, 61-60.

Rennicke sank a pair of free throws with 4.2 seconds left.

“It was a great comeback after being down 14 points in the first half. We stuck to the game plan and never wavered. This team played so hard and willed us to victory,” Domach said.

The Warriors had a balanced scoring attack, led by Rennicke with 15 points. Gahan scored 12 and pulled down 20 rebounds.

“Braxton Gahan dominated the boards again like he has done all season. He became the second all-time leading rebounder in school history in this game,” Domach said.

Hamm chipped in 12 points, six rebounds and four steals. Chase Miller scored 10 points and finished with six rebounds. Matt Miller scored nine points.

Living Word Lutheran was led by McKnight with 24 points, including 14 in the first half.

The Warriors ended 11-15 overall. They were 6-13 in the Big East South Division, good for sixth place of seven teams.