CG-Belgium falls to Lutheran

The Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ basketball team held a first-half lead at Big East Conference-leading Sheboygan Lutheran last Friday before the Rockets ran out of gas in the second half.

Crusader Casey Verhagen kept playing with a full tank.

The guard who was named Big East Player of the Year last season scored 43 points as the Crusaders pulled away for a 72-52 victory.

“He hit three threes in a row and started getting it going with my guys getting tired,” coach Derek Wimmer said.

The Rockets were down, 34-27, at halftime.

Parker Knight, who has become the Rockets’ go-to defender at nearly six feet tall with quick feet, picked up three quick fouls in the first half keeping up with Verhagen and had to sit.

The Rockets’ two top offensive players couldn’t equal Verhagen’s output. Sam Peiffer scored 18 points and Logan Arrowood had 17.

The Crusaders moved to 7-0 in the Big East while the Rockets remain in second place at 5-2.

On Jan. 4, the Rockets blew past visiting Living Word Lutheran, 83-66.

Peiffer had 31 points on 14-for-18 shooting (77.7%) and had five rebounds and three assists. Arrowood had 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Cole Ketterhagen had 11 points and four assists. Knight had seven points and three assists, and Ethan Aponte had six points.

“We had a pretty good all-around game,” Wimmer said. “As long as we have guys come off the bench and score, we usually do pretty well.”

For the Timberwolves, Tyler McKnight and Mason Martinez each had 18 points.

The Rockets, 6-3 overall, host Kohler (2-4 Big East) on Thursday and play at Hilbert (0-11) on Tuesday, Jan. 18.