Cedar Grove-Belgium boys kick into high gear

March madness came back to the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ basketball team to close out the year at the Rockets’ four-team home tournament last week.

The Rockets won the Cedar Grove-Belgium Holiday Tournament title game, 87-80, over Martin Luther on Dec. 30 in athletic contest of wild swings.

The Rockets took a 20-point lead early and held a double-digit edge for most of the rest of the game, but the Spartans started to close the gap late.

Senior Carter Schmitz led the Rockets with 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-8 on three-pointers. He also had 11 rebounds and three assists. 

Senior Owen Gulke scored 24 points on 9-for-10 shooting, making three of four three-pointers.

Senior Thomas Wiesner had 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting, eight assists and six rebounds. Junior Griffin Knight had 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Rockets came out hot, making shots from all over the court. They shot 32-for-47 (68.1%)  for the game.

“We made eight threes in the first half. It makes things a lot easier when that happens,” coach Jake Hock said.

“They (Martin Luther) were a little cold to start,  partially because of our defense. We forced them to make great shots. I didn’t think they expected us to be so physical and quick.”

The Spartans got back into the game by catching fire. They shot 33-for-62 (53.2%) for the game. Noah Tyler led the team with 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Damariye Redmond had 21.

“They came storming back and just hit every shot all of a sudden,” Hock said.

But the Rockets, who compete in Division 4, made enough free throws late to keep it at least a two-possession game and top the Division 2 foe.

“The first three-fourths of the game was the best basketball I’ve seen these guys play ever. It showed we’re back. We’re fully in basketball season mode now,” Hock said, referring to last season’s magical run to the sectional final that included clutch late free throws by Gulke to beat Kohler and a Wiesner half-court buzzer-beater to top Roncalli.

Aside from praising Schmitz and Gulke’s play, “Noah Lukens had the best game of his career, Griffin’s driving to the hole,” Hock said. “Everything was clicking, everything we teach.”

Wiesner, he said, played a huge role in beating the Spartans.

“We kind of run through Tom. He’s such an intelligent player and such an important player on all the little things,” Hock said.

“We got the ball into Tom, which forced them to leave Owen and Carter (open). Our top four guys are so tough to match up with as a team.”

The Rockets earned a spot in the title game by winning, 63-45, over Oakfield,  then ranked No. 5 in the Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports Boys Basketball Media Poll, on Dec. 29.

Schmitz had 26 points on 9-for-19 shooting and 12 rebounds. Gulke had 21 points and seven rebounds. Knight had nine points and eight rebounds. Wiesner had six points, four assists, four steals and three blocks.

Wiesner and Lukens helped contain Bo Bijl, Oakfield’s 6 feet, 8-inch forward, holding him to four points and 11 rebounds, below his season averages of 11 points and 13 rebounds per game.

“We fronted him and the backside help was there all night,” Hock said.

The tournament victory is something the Rockets, 6-2, can build on coming out of Christmas break.

“I think that really is going to propel us going forward. We have high expectations of the level of play we should have every night,” Hock said.

The Rockets play at nonconference foe North Fond du Lac on Thursday, Jan. 8, and host Big East Conference opponent Sheboygan Christian on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Ozaukee cruises past Hustisford

Ozaukee kept Hustisford winless with a 69-32 road win on Dec. 30.

All the Warriors got liberal playing time as the starters got plenty of rest.

Chase Mills scored a quick eight points in the first two minutes of the game to get the Warriors off and running and finished with 23 points. Brayden Lowrance-Eischen scored 27 points to lead all scorers, and he had nine rebounds.

CJ Dvorak had eight rebounds and Dylan Budzisz grabbed seven.

“We will take a win even though it wasn’t a pretty win,” Ozaukee coach Bob Domach said. “Everyone played a ton of minutes.  It was a good opportunity to play different line ups and let other players experience different situations.”

The Warriors, 3-4, were to play at Ripon for a nonconference game on Tuesday, Jan. 6. They host Big East foe Kohler on Monday, Jan. 12.