Phantoms upend Wildcats, improve to 5-2
By Josh Staloch
Staff Writer
GREEN BAY – The West De Pere Phantoms boys’ basketball team had a well-balanced night offensively Thursday, Dec. 16, en route to a lopsided win – its fifth of the season – over Green Bay West, 78-34.
The Bay Conference game was played at West High School.
“We stress our five core beliefs as a team,” West De Pere Head Coach Todd Deschane said. “Play hard, play smart, have fun, be great communicators and be great teammates. Those are the five things we look to do in each game. It doesn’t matter who we play, we stress those values as the culture of our club. In a situation like tonight, where our lead got a little big, you still want to show respect by playing hard.”
The Wildcats opened the game by enticing the Phantoms into a turnover before Bishop Bufford, who led West with 11 points on the night, scored at the other end.
The opening lead was West’s only one of the night, as Daniel Campbell (10 points) hit a 3-pointer on the other end for West De Pere.
From there, the Phantoms went on a 12-1 scoring run, highlighted by Thomas Walder’s (nine points) 3-pointer from the corner in front of the West bench.
With a 42-15 lead, West De Pere had put the game away by halftime.
Andrew Baumgart, who led all scorers with 13 points, was getting good looks down low for the Phantoms during the second half.
The Wildcats never found their rhythm, but 6-foot-3 sophomore Rashad Rice (four points) hit a 3-pointer to make it 67-26 with about 10 minutes left to play.
“We’re getting better every game, every opportunity and every practice,” West Head Coach Jerry Overstreet said. “We’re a young team – a lot of our guys haven’t played together before, and we’ve got to gel a bit. It’s going to take some time, but we’ve got to give ourselves a chance by reducing our turnovers. As far as the production of the guys, they’re working. I can’t ask for much more. They care about each other. I’m starting to see some relationships evolving, and guys are understanding each other and what their roles are. We’re going to get better.”