By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON – Ashwaubenon boys’ basketball player Marcus Wagner came into the Jaguars’ game against Manitowoc Lincoln Jan. 8 averaging four points per game. On this night, he went off for 13 points, four rebounds and three steals to help the Jags post a 52-43 Fox River Classic Conference victory over the Ships.
“Marcus really gave us a lift tonight with his energy,” said Chris Karcz, Ashwaubenon coach. “He made some plays that turned the momentum back in our favor.”
Kyle Krueger led the Jaguars (3-7 overall, 1-6 FRCC) with 18 points, while Mason Dopirak led all scorers with 21 points for the Ships (2-8 overall, 0-6 FRCC).
A drought bestowed both teams for the first 5:20 of the game as neither team could knock down a jumper.
Finally, Ashwaubenon’s Brady Wittig canned a long-distance three to get the scoring on track.
With the Jaguars up five midway through the first half, the Ships went on an 11-3 run to take their first lead of the game at 13-10. Much of the damage was done by Dopirak and Josh Hoffman.
Just near the end of the half, Wagner made a cut to the basket for two points and then on the ensuing Ships possession, stole a pass and went coast-to-coast to even the game at 18 apiece heading into halftime.
The Ships held the advantage for the first 2 minutes of the second half but enjoyed their last lead at 23-21 after center Davis Heinzen powered in a lay-up.
The Jaguars took control of the contest by going on an 11-2 spurt behind two triples by Chris Morgan and the strong interior play of Krueger to give them a 32-25 advantage with 11:22 left in the game.
The Ships made one final push behind their offensive rebounding to cut the Jaguars margin to one with 3:16 left. A Jaguars miss on a one-in-one gave Manitowoc the ball to try and regain the lead, but a pesky Wagner stole the ball in the back court and easily went in for a lay-up to push the margin back up for the Jaguars.
“We know other teams in this league are bigger,” Karcz said. “But we still have to do a better job at blocking out and wanting that rebound.”
The Jaguars connected on 5-of-6 free throws to ice the game and give them their first conference win of the 2018-19 season.
“It’s good to get that first conference win under our belt,” added Karcz. “We had a tough stretch there, and now the kids have to dig deep and find a way to win moving forward.”
Box Score:
Manitowoc: 18, 25—43
Ashwaubenon: 18, 34—52
Ships: Dopirak 21, Hoffman 10, Jacobson 5, Cornell 3, Heinzen 2, Steinbecker 2
Jaguars: Krueger 18, Wagner 13, Morgan 8, Wittig 6, Wendorf 4, Tomashek 3
