By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — Jalen Flowers and Ryan Sweeney combined for 42 points in Green Bay East’s 67-49 Bay Conference victory over Green Bay West Jan. 30.
The game, played at West, was held with a limited number of fans in attendance.
“Jalen plays with more energy than most guys in the entire state,” said Rick Rosinski, East head coach. “When he’s playing well, he’s a beast. He’s aggressive from the get-go. Ryan, on the other hand, is calm. He can score in different ways. I think he’s the most underrated player in this area. The kid is averaging almost 25 points per game and dishes out multiple assists.”
The Red Devils, who fought off multiple first-half turnovers, opened an 11-7 lead behind the mid-range game of Flowers and sweet shooting of Sweeney.
However, the Wildcats crept their way back midway through the half with the help of their 3-2 zone.
West regained the lead, 15-14, with 5:04 left until intermission after Juan Perez-Medrano connected on an elbow jumper off an East turnover.
It was part of nine, first-half turnovers the Red Devils committed.
“There’s nothing like a city rivalry game,” said Jerry Overstreet, West head coach. “I thought we played with great energy and effort.”
With the Wildcats holding a four-point advantage, East closed the first half with eight straight points to take a 27-23 lead into the break.
“We struggled early to get the ball into the short corner to attack,” said Rosinski. “We were afraid to score in the first half. Once we hit some threes and started to relax, we were able to dictate how we’re capable of playing.”
The Red Devils increased their back-court pressure to start the second half and forced West into seven early giveaways, as the lead expanded to 40-29 with 12:37 remaining.
“East’s athleticism took over in the final 18 minutes,” Overstreet said. “They crashed the offensive boards with force.”
A bit later, the Red Devils stretched their lead to as many 16 points, but the Wildcats cut the margin in half (54-46) thanks to the post play of Jefferson Cooper-Holmes and outside shooting of Jackson Spoentgen.
With less than four minutes remaining, the West bench was called for a technical foul, and East iced the game from the free-throw line.
“We got contributions from all 11 guys today,” Rosinski said. “We had guys come in and get a point here and there. When you add it all up, we had a team effort.”
Note: Green Bay West freshman Rashad Rice hit a 70-foot shot at the buzzer to lift the Wildcats over East, 47-45, in the junior varsity game Jan. 28.
Box score:
Green Bay East: 27, 40 — 67
Green Bay West: 23, 26 — 49
Red Devils: Flowers 22, Sweeney 20, Aoki 8, Schultz 6, Felix 5, Killian 3, Boeder 2, Campbell 1.
Wildcats: Cooper-Holmes 17, Spoentgen 11, Hemery 9, Perez-Medrano 8, Bazett-Jones 2, Stevens 2.