By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
DE PERE—The West De Pere boys basketball team won their fourth game in a row as they defeated the Milwaukee Hamilton Wildcats by a final of 71-58 in a non-conference game held Jan. 12 at West De Pere High School.
“We had some good high-low touches tonight with Jake (Karchinski) and Kerry (Kodanko) that really set the tone for our point production,” said Andy Werner, West De Pere head coach.
Jovan Webb led the Phantoms with 21 points, Kerry Kodanko had 16 points, and Jake Karchinski added 13.
The Wildcats were in led in scoring by Marquis Barry who poured in 17.
The visitors shot right out of the gates behind the play of Barry.
The diminutive point guard scored two early baskets and had an assist on the other as the ‘Cats’ opened up a 7-0 lead.
It was short-lived, however, as West De Pere went on a 16-2 barrage to go up seven with 11:48 left till intermission.
With just under five minutes left in the opening half, the Wildcats clawed back into the game thanks in large part to offensive put-backs due to their athleticism.
The Phantoms took a 36-33 advantage into the locker room after Webb scored three late transition baskets on turnovers by Milwaukee Hamilton.
Every time it looked like West De Pere was going to pull away in the second half, the Wildcats had an answer to keep the margin within a few possessions.
“I thought their second chance points hurt us at times,” Werner added. “They were quick around the rim. We saw that similar style yesterday against Green Bay East.”
Finally, with 7:23 left in the game, the Phantoms closed the deal with a 13-2 run to go up double-digits.
A double technical was assessed to Milwaukee Hamilton late in the contest to add to the final margin.
“It was a big win for us to step out of conference and to play back-to-back games with a lot of energy,” said Werner. “We’ve had a couple of good weeks and want to keep it going.”
Box Score:
Milwaukee Hamilton: 33, 25—58
West De Pere: 36, 35—71
Wildcats: Barry 17, Gillie 10, Edmond 8, Oliver 6, Forester 6, Johnson 5, Taylor 4, Ousley 2
Phantoms: Webb 21, Kodanko 16, Karchinski 13, Edinger 9, Kempen 6, Wall 4, Darrow 2
