There’s no letup for Ozaukee boys’ basketball

By MITCH MAERSCH

Ozaukee Press staff

Coming off of one of the most electric, incredible wins in recent memory, Ozaukee High School boys’ basketball coach Bob Domach was hoping to avoid a letdown at Cedar Grove-Belgium on Monday.

He got his wish.

A ball-hawking, gap-filling defense and just enough offense led by guard Conner Rennicke and forward Bret Hamm resulted in a 60-57 victory over the Rockets.

“It was a good, hard-fought game. They’re well coached. Derek (Winner, Rockets’ coach) does a nice job with them. We really focused on defense, especially after giving up so many points to Kohler last week,” Domach said, referring to the 89-85 barn burner last Thursday.

“Really important,” Rennicke said of beating the rival Rockets. “We had this one circled for sure. We beat Kohler last week. We knew they were take us serious. We wanted to come out with energy, and we sure did.”

The Warriors held a 30-26 halftime lead and built it to 41-33 and 53-45 in the second half, but the Rockets kept clawing their way back. The Warriors kept answering to keep a slight edge until the clock ran out.

Freshman guard Owen Gulke hit a three-pointer, and senior Caleb Beightol made one of two free throws to cut the lead to 53-49.

Parker Knight hit two free throws to make it 53-51 with less than three and a half minutes to go.

The Warriors answered. Senior Aaron Nehls hit a shot inside, and a Warrior free throw pushed the lead to 56-51 with less than two minutes left.

After a Rockets’ timeout, the Warriors drew a charge.

With 42.6 seconds left, Rocket Brody Halleman made two free throws to get his team to within three points at 56-53.

Rennicke then made both ends of a double bonus, and Rocket senior Mason Navis scored inside to make it 58-55 with 20 seconds left.

Warrior junior guard Sawyer Kowalkowski went 1-for-2 in the double bonus with 16.3 seconds left and, after a Rocket turnover, again made one of two free throws to push the lead to 60-55 with eight seconds left.

Halleman made a putback as time expired. Ozaukee had hung on.

Rennicke had 19 points on 3-for-8 shooting, including 3-for-7 on three-pointers and 4-for-5 on free throws. Hamm had 18 points on 8-for-15 shooting, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals. Nehls and Kowalkowski each had eight points and seven rebounds. Chase Miller grabbed eight rebounds.

Knight led the Rockets with 24 points on 7-for-10 shooting and 4-for-6 on free throws.

Mason Navis had 10 points off the bench on 3-for-6 shooting, and Matt Peiffer had eight points.

“We had some bad turnovers and bad times. When we turn it over, we gave them a layup, basically,” coach Derek Wimmer said.

“I was happy with our shots. In the second half, I wasn’t happy when we tried to barrel in and try and get layups and got charges. I would have rather had them pull up for a jumper at the elbow.”

The Rockets took a 6-0 lead on three-pointers by Peiffer and Knight, but the Warrriors answered. The game was tied at 11 before the Warriors took the lead for good with more than 12 minutes left in the first half.

“Our defense was incredible tonight compared to other games, Rennicke said. “Our help side was top notch in the first half and I think that really slowed them down.”

Last Thursday, the Warriors survived a ferocious comeback against Kohler, tied as the No. 10-ranked team in Division 4, according to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association poll.

The Warriors took a 55-48 halftime lead and stretched it to 70-54 with 11 minutes left before the Blue Bombers staged a comeback.

By the time 124 ticks were left, Ozaukee was only up, 86-80. The Warriors went 3-for-8 at the free throw line down the stretch to hang on.

“I think people around the league looked at that box score and were surprised,” Rennicke said. “I don’t think they were expecting us to come out with energy. They didn’t take us seriously. That’s what we want.”

Hamm had 29 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Rennick had 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. Kowalkowski had 19 points and five assists, and Nehls had 13 points and seven rebounds.

The Warriors went 10-for-25 on free throws.

For Kohler, Jalen Paul had 30 points, Trey Keller had 20 and Max Breitenbach had 12 points and 12 rebounds.

“It feels great to knock off the first place team in the conference and a top 10 team in state,” Domach said.

Ozaukee lost at Two Rivers, 73-58, on Dec. 12. Nehls had 25 points, including four three-pointers. Hamm had 10 points and Rennicke had eight.

Brady Richards had 17 points for Two Rivers, and Elijah Mott had 12.

Ozaukee, 2-3 in the Big East Conference and 3-4 overall, was to play at nonconference foe Messmer on Wednesday.

The Rockets won two of their last three games coming into the Ozaukee showdown.

They lost to Kewaskum, 53-50, at home on Dec. 13. Knight had 24 points and nine rebounds. Ethan Aponte had seven points, and Beightol had eight rebounds.

Antoine Colemna Thull had 16 points for Kewaskum, and Ryan Cook and Zach Behn each had 14.

The Rockets beat visiting Manitowoc Lutheran, 57-55, last Thursday. Knight had 20 points, five rebounds and four assists. Beightol had 12 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Halleman had nine points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Gulke had seven points and five rebounds.

Luke Marohn led Lutheran with 17 points.

The Rockets knocked off Living Word Lutheran on the road last Friday, 55-48. They outscored their foes 31-24 in the second half.

Peiffer had 18 points, going 4-for-6 on three-pointers. Knight had 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. Navis had 11 points and five rebounds.

Earl Holland led Lutheran with 16 points, and Easton Oliver had 15.

The Rockets, 3-3 in the Big East and 4-5 overall, host Greendale on Wednesday, Dec. 28.