By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — The Ashwaubenon boys’ basketball team turned a one-point halftime deficit into a 66-39 victory over Green Bay East in non-conference action at East High School Jan. 3.
“You can see we didn’t come to play in the first half,” said Ashwaubenon head coach Mark Tomashek. “We made some adjustments at the break offensively and defensively and played with great energy in the final 18 minutes.”
Matt Imig led Ashwaubenon (4-3 overall) with 18 points, and Marcus Tomashek chipped in 11 points before fouling out late in the contest.
The Red Devils were paced by Jalen Flowers’ 14 points.
After an extended holiday break for both teams, it was East which jumped out to an early lead.
Flowers connected on a three to give the home team a 9-3 lead, while the Jaguars started 1-for-9 from the field.
After Alex Aoki made an up-and-under move in the lane, the Red Devils (1-6 overall) took a 19-11 lead with 7:42 left until halftime.
Ashwaubenon cut into the margin, going on a 9-2 run to end the half.
The field-goal shooting by both teams was under 30 percent in the first 18 minutes.
Ashwaubenon’s Kyle Krueger opened the second-half scoring by getting an entry pass deep in the lane, waiting for two defenders to fly past and putting a layup in for a 22-21 lead.
Eight minutes later, Imig took a feed from Brady Wittig and popped in a 26-footer from the left arc for a 45-26 Ashwaubenon lead with 9:02 left in the game.
It was part of a 25-5 Jaguars’ run in which the Red Devils only made two field goals.
“We knew if we stuck with our offense, the shots would eventually fall,” said Imig. “Our defense picked up in the second half, and the run was huge for our confidence.
East cut the margin to 13 points after Bill Felix connected on a left-handed hook shot, but it was Ashwaubenon who remained stout down the stretch, running away with the victory.
“You have to come to play every night,” added Tomashek. “The kids have to learn how to compete every possession and play two halves of basketball.”
Box score
Ashwaubenon: 20, 46—66
Green Bay East: 21, 18—39
Jaguars: Imig 18, Tomashek 11, Wittig 10, Krueger 10, Zollar 7, Vang 4, Deicher 3, Spika 2, Kelly 1.
Red Devils: Flowers 14, Aoki 10, Felix 7, Sweeney 5, Campbell 1, Burns 1, Vasquez 1.