By Murray Gleffe, Correspondent
ASHWAUBENON-Anthony Guarascio scored 33 and Jeremy Cox 18 as the Ashwaubenon Jaguars defeated the Green Bay Preble Hornets 69-63 in FRCC boys’ basketball action. (Jan. 16)
The Jaguars connected on 43% of their three points shots for the game.
Camden Wall pumped in 27 for the Hornets in defeat.
Guarascio got the scoring going for the Jaguars as he hit short, midrange, and three-point bombs to give his team a 15-10 lead midway through the first half.
The play was very deliberate as both teams held the ball for long stretches before attempting shots.
With 6:31 left till intermission, Cox started his assault on the Hornets.
He hit back-to-back-to-back triples to give the Jaguars a 22-14 lead with 3:38 left till the break.
“Jeremy has looked very confident in his shot these past three ball games,” commented Jaguar Basketball Coach Chris Karcz. “I told him to not worry about missing a shot. Feel the flow of the game, square up, and release the ball. He has really become a nice option behind Anthony.”
The Hornets remained resilient, however, as they closed on a 6-0 run.
During that stretch, Quinn Watermolen hit two free throws, Josh Nicklaus a lay-up after a steal, and finally Bryan Boockmeier connected on a shot in the paint to close the margin to 22-20 at the half.
Miraculously, Guarascio and Cox had accounted for all the Jaguar scoring to that point.
The Hornets went on a mini-spurt to start half number two and took their last lead at 29-27 with 14:17 left in the game.
Evan Wood then became the third Jaguar to score on the evening by canning a three that rattled around not once but twice before falling through the basket.
“Sometimes you get a couple of guys that get on rolls and you put the ball in their hands,” added Karcz. “Today was one of those days where Jeremy and Anthony had our first 27 points of the ball game. I would like to have more kids involved, obviously, but the result turned out to be in our favor tonight.”
On the next Jaguar’s offensive possession, Guarascio was about to inbounds the ball and couldn’t find anybody to pass it too.
Out of nowhere, he flicked the ball off the back of Hornet’s guard Nic Tuscan and put the bucket home for a 32-29 lead. It was an old-school play that led to an important two points in the outcome of the game!
The Jaguars finally extended their margin to double digits after Center Kenneth Brooks connected on an up and under move to put them up 51-40 with just 4:23 left in the contest.
Unlike the first half where possessions were at a premium, the second half was wide open and at times frenetic!
Late in the game, Wall hit bomb after bomb to keep his team in it.
“Our goal coming into the game was to force Camden to have to hit tough shots, “ Karcz said. “I thought we did a great job in the first half containing him. He went off towards the end of the game, but fortunately we had a bit of a safety net to work with.”
The Hornets would get no closer than six points.
The Jaguars connected on 9 of 10 free throws in the final two minutes to capture the conference game.
When the final horn blew, both teams had combined for 90 second half points.
The Jaguars have won two of three games and improve to 3-10 overall on the season.
The boys’ basketball team will be back in action Jan. 19 when they travel to Sheboygan (South) to take on the Redwings.
Green Bay Preble/Ashwaubenon Box Score
Green Bay Preble 20,43, -63
Ashwaubenon 22,47, -69
Hornet Totals: FG’s 21-46, 3 PT FG’s 8-21, FT’s 13-14, Rebounds 21, Steals 4, Turnovers 8, Personal Fouls 19
Wall 27, Boockmeier 14, Tuscan 13, Nicklaus 7, Watermolen 2
Jaguar Totals: FG’s 23-53, 3 PT FG’s 10-23, FT’s 13-19, Rebounds 24, Steals 7, Turnovers 5 Personal Fouls 17
Guarascio 33, Cox 18, Wood 8, Baierl 4, Brooks 4, Adair 2
