Port boys win big at home; girls have won three of four

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

There was no middle ground for the Port Washington High School boys’ basketball team last week.

The Pirates walked the plank at Nicolet on Jan. 10 in a 107-58 loss.

Last Friday, they found sunken treasure in an 84-44 win over West Bend West.

In the victory, Pirate guard Kenyon Davis  had a fan club rooting him on, Nicole Burmesch’s first-grade students from Saukville Elementary School.

Burmesch taught Davis in fourth grade, and now he visits her first-grade classroom four days per week to help via Youth Service Learning.

“The kids adore Kenyon and run into his arms every day he walks into our classroom. Kenyon is equally excited to see them. Their bond is special, and it’s a joy to see,” Burmesch said.

“I contacted the parents in my class to surprise Kenyon at one of his basketball games. Everyone loved cheering him on — parents included.”

Davis, Port’s leading scorer, did not disappoint. He poured in a game-high 32 points, making nine of 10 free throws and three three-pointers.

Senior Matt Esselmann scored 23 points, and Kyle Uselding had 14.

Brody Niehoff and Josh Arnold each had five points. Noah Dohery had three points and Ryan Burmesch (no relation to Nicole) had two.

Port held a 49-20 halftime lead and outscored the Spartans, 35-24, in the second half.

Jack Waala had 12 points and Jacob Goetz had 11 for West Bend West.

In the Nicolet game, Davion Hannah, the No. 1-ranked sophomore in the state, scored 25 points, had seven rebounds, five assists and three steals. David Bolden had 27 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

Port stats weren’t available.

Port, 2-7 in the North Shore Conference and 6-8 overall, host West Bend East on Thursday, Jan. 19, and Grafton on Tuesday, Jan. 24.

Port girls are heating up

The Port girls won two games last week and have won three of their last four.

On Jan. 10, Port dominated Nicolet, 61-35, and last Friday won at West Bend West, 53-45.

Against Nicolet, five Pirates scored eight or more points, led by Savanna Miller’s 14. She also had four steals. Lillian Merow had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Sierra Miller had nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Maggie Zirbes had nine points, and Abbey Grisar had eight.

Paige Scheunemann had eight rebounds and Norah Merow had seven.

Morgan Williams led Nicolet with 14 points.

Port led, 29-21, at halftime and pulled away with a 32-14 advantage in the second half.

Against West, Port came back from a 23-19 halftime deficit. Lillian Merow had 18 points and 15 rebounds. Zirbes had 13 points. Hope Gilhooly had nine rebounds and three points.

“The girls are doing an awesome job taking that next step as a group,” coach Jakub Wahl said.

Port went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and take control at West.

“It came down to us taking care of ourselves. We had a chaotic offense in first half,” Wahl said.

Port, 2-7 in the NSC and 6-8 overall, hosts West Bend East on Thursday, Jan. 19, and plays Grafton at the Fiserv Forum on Wednesday, Jan. 25.

Grafton girls hit a valley

Grafton lost at home to Martin Luther, 51-40, on Saturday, their third straight defeat after a three-game winning steak.

Gracie McNabb had 15 points and went 5-for-9 on three-pointers.

Coach Matt D’Amato said the game was a hangover from Friday night, when the Black Hawks held a 31-20 lead over Hartford but lost, 59-48. Savannah James had 14 points and Sarah Aleknavicius had 13.

Hartford’s Makena Christian had 32 points.

The Hawks lost at NSC leader Homestead, 63-48, on Jan. 10. James had 21 points on 8-for-16 shooting.

“It’s not who we are. It’s very uncharacteristic of our team as a whole. This was a rough couple of days to take,” D’Amato said.

Grafton, 6-3 in the NSC and 9-6 overall, hosts West Bend West on Friday, Jan. 20.