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Southwest uses big run to defeat Redbirds

By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor


GREEN BAY – The Southwest High School boys’ basketball team used an 18-2 run that traversed two halves to beat De Pere, 61-52, in a Fox River Classic Conference game Jan. 15 at Southwest High School.

The Trojans (12-0 overall, 8-0 FRCC), who are the No. 2-ranked Division 2 team in the state, remained unbeaten with the victory, while De Pere (7-5, 4-4) has split its last four conference games.

With the game tied at 24 late in the first half, Southwest ended the first 18 minutes with a 6-0 run and then began the second half on a 12-2 spurt to open up a 42-26 advantage.

“That was basically the ball game right there,” said De Pere head coach Brian Winchester. “At the end of the first half, we were in foul trouble with three of our guys sitting on the bench. I thought we had a chance to go into halftime at worst down one, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to do that. Southwest’s run at the end of the first half left us a little deflated as a team.”

Despite being down 16, the Redbirds battled back the rest of the way behind Ben Basten’s 24 points. The junior Basten was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.

“I was proud of the way we came back and made things moderately interesting,” Winchester added. “We need Ben to get going like this. Maybe this is a game that gets him on track and gives him a little confidence.”

De Pere came into the game without sharpshooter Will Dehn, who is the Redbirds’ second-leading scorer. Jack Coisman continues to be sidelined by a broken foot and Seth Andrews could also be seen on crutches with a sprained ankle.

The Trojans, who fell behind by 9-4 and 15-8 margins early in the first half, had four players score in double figures, led by Will Pytleski’s 20.

Carson Landry (13), Lucas Stieber (12) and Owen Stieber (10) also had strong games for Southwest, who shot 46 percent from the field.

“We closed the first half strong and maintained that lead,” said Southwest head coach John Polkowski. “The talk at halftime was that we couldn’t come out stale in the second half. The guys took it upon themselves to come out going fast. We tried to just keep the pressure and the tempo up. There are always things to work on, but with four guys in double figures, it doesn’t matter who scores for us.”

Box Score

De Pere: 24, 28 – 52
Southwest: 30, 31 – 61

De Pere: Basten 24, Nies 9, Spaeth 4, Kinziger 4, Ellis 4, Shinners 1, Hohol 6.

Southwest: Pytleski 20, Landry 13, L. Stieber 12, O. Stieber 10, Way 2, Baade 2, Melchert 2.

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