By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
PULASKI — The Ashwaubenon boys’ basketball team defeated Pulaski, 47-35, on senior night Feb. 27 at Pulaski High School.
The Jaguars finished 15-7 overall and 14-4 in the Fox River Classic Conference, one game behind Bay Port, which won the FRCC with a 15-3 record.
Kyle Krueger led the Jaguars with 20 points, and Brady Wittig added seven points and six assists.
The Red Raiders (4-18, 2-16) were paced by seniors Brock Egnarski (11 points) and Casten Bedora (10 points).
“Kyle was the best player on the floor tonight,” said Ashwaubenon head coach Mark Tomashek. “We tried to take advantage of some things in the interior. It was one of our game plans going into it. He played hard and smart and made good decisions the entire game.”
Unlike the first game between the two rivals where scoring was at a premium in the first half, this contest carried a faster pace.
Ashwaubenon jumped out to an early 13-8 lead after Krueger sealed his defender underneath the basket for an easy layup.
“I owe it all to my coach tonight,” said Krueger. “He recognized the mismatches in the paint, and my teammates did a great job of finding me the ball.
A little later in the half, Bedora scored 2 of his 10 points by going the length of the floor to cut the Jaguars’ lead to 17-14 with 7:38 left until intermission.
While the Red Raiders went cold the remainder of the first half, Ashwaubenon took control with a pair of jumpers by Matt Imig and then a 35-foot buzzer beater by Marcus Tomashek for a 28-18 halftime lead.
Ashwaubenon came out in the second half with Krueger showing his inside muscle in garnering a three-point play for a 37-25 advantage.
Pulaski got no closer than eight points the rest of the night, as the Jaguars coasted to the double-digit victory.
“I’m disappointed we had a chance to win a championship,” added Tomashek. “On the flip side, if you would have told me we would have gotten 14 conference wins to start the season, I would have taken it. Now, we have to take one day at a time and prepare the same for the postseason. Nothing will change in regards to our practice routine. It’s a tough regional and sectional, and you can’t overlook any team come March.”
Box score
Ashwaubenon: 28, 19—47
Pulaski: 18, 17—35
Jaguars: Krueger 20, Imig 11, Wittig 7, Tomashek 5, Zollar 2, Johnson 2.
Red Raiders: Egnarski 11, Bedora 10, Bramschreiber 6, McKeefry 4, Holloway 2, Lemerond 1, Budz 1.