BY RICH PALZEWIC
CORRESPONDENT
SUAMICO – The No. 2 ranked Bay Port boys’ basketball team put on a dunking display in a 69-28 Fox River Classic Conference rout of the Manitowoc Lincoln Ships Dec. 15 at Bay Port High School.
The Pirates (5-0 overall, 3-0 FRCC) collected six dunks – three by Cordell Tinch, two by Cade Johnson and one by Jack Plumb – on their way to a fifth consecutive win to start the season.
Up 7-3 early, the 6-foot-2 Tinch scored the next 11 points for Bay Port, including a trifecta of monstrous slams to ignite the crowd in an otherwise uneventful contest.
“It’s that zone,” said Tinch, who recently committed to the University of Minnesota for track and field and football. “It’s always fun to dunk it.”
All 14 players suited up saw significant playing time and 11 of those found the scoring column.
“It was a good game for getting everyone in,” said Bay Port head coach Nate Rykal. “I expected maybe a little bit of a closer game, but we are a really good team and had things going. I thought Garrett Mooren gave us some meaningful minutes in the first half.”
Mooren, a senior guard/forward, pumped in eight first-half points in helping the Pirates jump out to a 44-11 lead at the break. He got his points on a pair of three’s and another field goal.
The five starters played the first three minutes of the second half before Rykal began subbing freely. Tinch, Plumb, Johnson, Deland Phillips and Alec Nagel didn’t play the remainder of the contest.
“You want to give your starters a little time to start the second half, but when we scored those quick eight points, it was time to take them out,” added Rykal. “You have to stay classy like that and you don’t want to embarrass the other team.”
Tinch led Bay Port with 14 points, while Johnson was the only other player for the team to score in double digits with his 10 points. Lucas LaMue also chipped in with eight.
The Pirates are off until Friday, Dec. 22, when they travel to Green Bay Southwest for a big early-season FRCC showdown. Bay Port will be looking to extend its conference winning streak to 22 games with a win over the Trojans (5-1, 4-0).
Box Score
Manitowoc: 11, 17 – 28
Bay Port: 44, 25 – 69
