Published: Jan. 10, 2014
Coming up big
East makes key shots in 4th quarter
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
Big-time players make bigtime plays in big-time games.
West Bend East’s Ben Vande Zande fit that description
Thursday night against rival West Bend West.
The senior made two key 3-pointers early in the fourth
quarter to create some separation in a 55-38 victory for the Suns over the
Spartans. “I trust the kids that they’re going to make key shots,” East coach
Ryan Tomczyk said. “We’ve got a lot of great players that can fill up the
hoop.”
Before those baskets, Vande Zande, who went into the game
averaging 10.8 points per game, had just five points and was battling foul
trouble. He picked up his third foul with 6:49 left in the third quarter.
“I didn’t take as many chances,” Vande Zande said about his
play after his third foul. “With a zone defense, it’s easy to give way to
another defender. So I just made sure I didn’t pick up any stupid fouls and
played solid defense.”
Leading by 11 points with 7:22 left in the fourth quarter,
Vande Zande made a 3-point basket to stretch the lead to 42-28. Then, with 5:46
left, Vande Zande hit a second 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 47-30,
prompting a timeout by West (4-6, 3-3).
From there, the Suns were in control of a game that wasn’t
swinging one way or the other until Vande Zande’s shots.
After not making any 3-pointers in the first half, East had
seven in the second.
“Not surprised,” West coach Ryan Wietor said. “They’re a
really good team.”
“We gave shooters too much space,” he added. “With a team
that shoots the ball as well as they do and as consistently as they do, that’s
what you get.”
West scored the game’s first points. After that, East (8-3,
5-1) went on a 10-0 run and never trailed the rest of the game.
West hung tight, with the help of Andrew and Jacob Duening.
The twins combined to score 10 of West’s 16 first-half
points. Because both teams struggled with ball control in the first half — the
teams combined for 24 first-half turnovers — West still had a chance, trailing
by only three points at halftime.
“We weren’t playing great,” Wietor said. “We were showing an
improvement over the course of the first half. I thought we had come into
halftime with a little bit of momentum even though we were down.”
Vande Zande also hit a 3-pointer with 2:29 left in the third
quarter to give East a 31-21 lead and prompting a timeout by West.
It was the first time the lead got into double digits.
“I tell the kids if the shot is open they have the green
light,” Tomczyk said.
West did all it could to stay close to its rival, but
outside of the Duening twins, the Spartans struggled offensively.
Andrew Duening finished the game with 19 points and nine
rebounds.
Collin Liebherr scored 19 points to lead the Suns and added
five rebounds. Alex Manhardt had 13 points and nine rebounds, and Vande Zande
finished with 11 points and three steals.
With the victory, East has now won three straight games in
the series after West had won eight of the previous 10. The victory also snaps
a three-game slide and, most importantly for the Suns, it keeps them in
striking distance of Wisconsin Little Ten Conferenceleading Wisconsin Lutheran.
The Vikings beat the Suns on Jan. 3 to take a one-game lead
in the standings. They’ll reconvene Feb. 11 at Wisconsin Lutheran.
The Vikings, who are 5-0 in the WLT, were idle Thursday and
will host Slinger at 7:15 p.m. today. The Owls are 4-1 in the conference and
are trying to keep the conference race interesting.
“We’ve got to stay on their heels,” Vande Zande said of
Wisconsin Lutheran. “We’ve got to keep putting the pressure on them.”
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