By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — Ryan Sweeney and Bill Felix combined for 29 points as Green Bay East defeated Green Bay West, 47-39, in the evening cap of the Silent Night doubleheader Feb. 1 at East High School.
A standing-room-only crowd witnessed the game.
“Bill carried us early,” said East head coach Rick Rosinski. “Ryan then showed his leadership in the second half by handling the ball and making plays when West made the run. Lots of the team struggled offensively with continuity and flow, so we needed some guys to step up. We gutted it out.”
Sweeney had 15 points for East, while Felix had 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
The Wildcats (2-12 overall, 0-9 Bay Conference), were paced by Jefferson Cooper-Holmes’ 13 points.
After West grabbed an early one-point lead, East raced out to an 18-9 advantage behind the inside play of Felix, who scored each of his buckets tight around the rim.
The Red Devils (3-11, 3-6) asserted themselves on the defensive end, forcing West into 10 first-half turnovers and only four made field goals.
East took a 24-14 lead into the locker room.
The Red Devils built their lead to 12 points after Sweeney hit a mid-range jumper to start the second half.
Both teams struggled offensively with changing defenses by each coaching staff.
Later on, Ticin Steele nailed a triple to cut the East lead to six points.
Steele made it a one possession game, 39-36, with 2:17 remaining after going high off the glass with a floater.
Sweeney came up with the play of the game after garnering a steal and scoring on a reverse, up-and-under layup to put the Red Devils back up by five points.
In the final minute, East connected on four free throws and a key bucket by Alex Aoki to push them to the Bay victory.
“Being a junior and an upperclassmen, I like to bring my teammates up when we go through some tough mental lapses,” said Aoki. “It’s a big win, and now I have bragging rights with some of my opponents from AAU summer ball.”
Editor’s note: Many former coaches and players were in attendance to honor the event, including former Ashwaubenon coach Kevin Phillips and current Denmark coach Scott Farr. “It brings in a light we have going on in the community,” said Rosinski about the event. “There must have been more than 2,000 people packed into this gym for a regular-season game. We won’t always know who gets the help, but it’s my hope this game continues on because if it makes an impact on one person’s life, it matters.”
Box score
Green Bay West: 14, 25—39
Green Bay East: 24, 23—47
Wildcats: Cooper-Holmes 13, Steele 10, Eddins 7, Chandara 4, Spoentgen 3, Padilla 2.
Red Devils: Sweeney 15, Felix 14, Flowers 7, Aoki 6, Schultz 3, Campbell 2.