By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY – The No. 4-seeded Green Bay East boys’ basketball team had all five starters score in double figures in a 67-61 victory over No. 5 Green Bay Preble Feb. 16.
The WIAA Division 1 regional quarterfinal game was played at East High School.
“We built a double-digit lead and showed resilience in the final minute,” said Rick Rosinski, East head coach. “It was a gut check for this team to pull this one out.”
Jalen Flowers led the Red Devils with 18 points, while Ryan Sweeney chipped in 15.
The Hornets were paced by senior Mike Schultz, Jr., who had 15 points.
The Red Devils attempted 32 free throws, connecting on 19.
Preble utilized its twin-towers of Schultz and Ashton Markell to build an early 19-14 lead.
“We knew we had an advantage with our post players,” said Andy Bobholz, Preble head coach. “Our guards hit some shots early and made great entry passes into the lane.”
East countered back with its full-court pressure and speed to even the game 26-26 after Bill Felix banked in a layup after sealing off his defender.
The Red Devils took a 29-28 lead into intermission.
“We had kids make quality attacks to the basket the final part of the first half,” Rosinski said. “We had a purpose, and it showed at the free-throw line.”
The Hornets threw the ball away on back-to-back possessions to start the second half.
East took full advantage of the turnovers and eventually built a 44-35 lead with 10:17 remaining in the game.
After Sweeney connected on a pair of free throws, the Red Devils had their biggest cushion of the night, 56-44.
“We did a good job of taking their bigs away in the second half by doubling and triple-teaming in the post,” said Rosinski. “Seth (Campbell) was a huge disruption getting hands on lots of balls on defense.”
Down the stretch, the Hornets methodically kept cutting into the lead with Austin Renard, Reese Berg and Thomas Michaels doing most of the damage.
“We had some sophomores and juniors get some valuable experience tonight in a regional game,” said Bobholz. “They’re going to be key components for us next season and moving forward.”
With East leading 62-59 with a minute remaining, Schultz took a drive to the basket for Preble and was called for an offensive foul.
To add insult to injury, it was his fifth and final foul of the evening.
The tide then turned back to the Red Devils, as Alex Aoki and Flowers each connected on a pair of free throws for East, which advanced to take on No. 1 De Pere in a WIAA regional semifinal game, Friday, Feb. 19.
“We’re going to be playing one of the better teams in Division 1,” said Rosinski. “It’s going to be a completely different matchup because they have shooters we’re going to have to defend.”
Box Score:
Green Bay Preble: 28, 33—61
Green Bay East: 29, 38—67
Hornets: Schultz Jr. 15, Markell 12, Renard 8, Berg 7, Geydoshek 6, Michaels 5, Holm 4, Helgeson 2, Jean-Baptiste 2.
Red Devils: Flowers 18, Sweeney 15, Campbell 12, Aoki 11, Felix 11.