Black Hawk boys bounce back big

One game after getting smoked by a North Shore Conference rival in the season opener, the Grafton High School boys’ basketball team showed its toughness.

The Black Hawks, after losing at Cedarburg, 82-58, on Dec. 1, came back with a 55-54 win at West Bend East last Friday.

The Hawks didn’t take the lead against the Suns until 33 minutes into the 36-minute game.

Senior guard Dominic Voiland drained a three-pointer to give Grafton a 53-50 edge.

“They were really focused on Brock (Heffner) and J.P. (Benzschawel), really dared him to shoot it,” coach Damon James said.

“I’ve got all the confidence in Dom, and hopefully he’s got that confidence in himself.”

The Suns responded with a basket, and the Hawks got fouled.

“Benzschawel hit two huge free throws, nothing but the net,” James said.

The Suns scored again to cut the lead to one point and then had to foul to get the ball back. But they didn’t have enough fouls to get in the bonus and the Hawks were able to run out the clock.

“It was a huge testament for our guys. We were tougher that night than our first time out. To get a road win like that in conference play was also huge,” James said.

Heffner, a 6 feet, 7-inch forward who can score inside and out, had 16 points on 6-for-12 shooting and had five assists. Benzschawel, the other of Grafton’s twin towers at 6-7, had 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

Senior guard Tyler Tsui scored 11 points and went 3-for-5 shooting on three-pointers. Voiland had five points and four steals.

Dawson Rondorf led three Suns in double figures with 22 points.

Against Cedarburg, the Hawks were bulldozed by the Bulldogs.

The Hawks held an 8-6 lead less than six minutes into the game, but the Bulldogs then took over, building a 45-27 halftime lead.

“There’s that famous saying by Mike Tyson, ‘Everybody’s got a plan until you jump in the ring and get punched in the mouth.’ We got punched in the mouth and never recovered from it,” James said.

The Bulldogs started the second half on a 7-0 run and the Hawks were never in the game.

Senior Drew Biber, 6-5, who was recruited by several schools to play basketball but has committed to Purdue as a tight end, scored 31 points on 9-for-15 shooting from the field, including a couple electrifying slam dunks and one alley-oop. He went 11-for-14 on free throws and grabbed 13 rebonds.

Logan Landers, a 6-10 forward who has committed to play at Kansas State, scored 24 points on 9-for-17 shooting. He went 5-for-9 on three-pointers and had nine rebounds.

For Grafton, Michael McNabb Jr. scored 20 points on 4-for-6 shooting and had nine rebounds. Heffner had 18 on 5-for-12 shooting.

James, however, wasn’t worried about the blowout.

“It’s the first game. I have confidence in this group that they’ll realize quickly what it means to be tough and what it means to compete with urgency,” he said.

Wearing masks throughout the game was tough for the players and coaches.

“We’re not only trying to observe the game and coach the game; now we’re telling kids to pull their masks up,” he said.

Benzschawel said, “I don’t like it. I’m not a fan” of the masks.

Heffner, who has committed to play at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, agreed but said they’ll get used to them. He was confident the team would play better as well.

“It’s our first game. I’m not worried. We’re going to get comfortable. We’ll be fine,” he said.

The Hawks lost leading scorer and NSC Player of the Year Alex Huibregtse and his 24.2 points per game to graduation. He’s playing at Wright State.

Heffner, who made the NSC second team last season when he averaged 17.1 points per game and 7.1 rebounds, has already drawn double and triple teams.

Benzschawel averaged 10 points per game and 7.3 rebounds last season and earned NSC honorable mention.

“Obviously, our size is our strength,” James said.

He said Tsui will also play a big role in his fourth year on varsity.

Voiland and younger players such as sophomore guards Bennett Hildebrand and Chase Norton, along with freshman McNabb Jr., will contribute, James said, as well as returning senior guards Daniel Schmitz and Noah Bulgrin.

The team will pick and choose its spots to get out and run, James said. On the other side of the court, the Hawks will primarily play man-to-man defense.

Grafton was to host Homestead on Tuesday, play at Whitefish Bay on Friday, host East Troy on Saturday and Hartford on Tuesday, Dec. 15.