Published: Jan. 25, 2014
In tough spot, Warhawks prevail
Germantown without top scorer
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
GERMANTOWN — Germantown sophomore Juwan McCloud wasn’t
nervous with his situation heading into the Warhawks’ boys basketball game
against Whitefish Bay on Friday.
He was motivated.
Thrust into the starting point guard role in a tough
situation, McCloud rose to the occasion, scoring 14 points to lead Germantown
to a 65-49 victory over Whitefish Bay.
McCloud, a Menomonee Falls transfer, made his first start
for Germantown at point guard. McCloud started for Lamonte Bearden, who was
inactive for the game after he and three other players were taken into custody
Thursday morning for possession of marijuana. The other players were Lamont
Christian, Dearionte Hudson and Brian Bearden.
Germantown coach Steve Showalter was hesitant when asked
about the situation, only saying afterward he was instructed not to comment by
school administration.
When asked about the game, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s a lot easier to talk about basketball,” he said. The
Beardens and Christian were at the game and sat with the team on the bench.
Hudson has been charged with a crime. The Beardens and Christian have yet to be
charged, if at all.
In a season that began with such promise, the Warhawks have
had to deal with adversity in the last week and a half.
On Jan. 14, the Warhawks had their nation-leading 69-game
winning streak snapped by Brookfield Central.
Then this happened.
“Last week was really tough after Brookfield Central,”
Showalter said. “It was tough to rally the guys back into it.
“This week was a great week of practice. It was a lot better
week of practice than I normally would’ve expected.”
With the team marred in hardship, McCloud, along with a cast
of others, was ready for the challenge.
“I was more motivated,” McCloud said. “I just had to step up
to the plate, perform and do what I do best.”
Senior Jake Showalter, who had a game-high 22 points, called
the game a must-win for the Warhawks now with the spotlight on the team, but
for a negative reason.
Lamonte Bearden is the team’s leading scorer (15.6 points
per game), while Brian Bearden is third on the team in scoring (11.8). From a
basketball standpoint, not having the Beardens in the lineup leaves the
Warhawks with two holes that needed to be filled quickly.
McCloud provided a lift. So did Brian Studer and Dwayne
Lawhorn Jr. They were three of the top-four scorers for Germantown against
Whitefish Bay.
Studer made three 3-pointers during a key stretch in the
fourth quarter to blow open a close game and finished with nine points.
Lawhorn finished with 10 points, all in the first half.
“There’s always going to be people that don’t want to see
you succeed, always looking for you to fail, giving you reasons to fail,” Jake
Showalter said. “We just push all that aside and come in every day and work
hard to be the best.”
“We’re really proud of what Juwan did,” he added. “We’re
going to be expecting him to step up like this in every game now, which we all
have confidence he can do.”
Steve Showalter was proud of how McCloud stepped up in a
tough situation.
“He’s been hurt most of the year,” Showalter said. “But he’s
been playing basketball for 15 years. He knows how to play. He’s only going to
get better for us.”
The last time out between these teams, Whitefish Bay
challenged Germantown, only losing by eight points. It was Germantown’s first
test of the season.
“Whitefish Bay plays us tough all the time,” Showalter said.
“They play hard; they play tough.
“The first half was a war.”
Whitefish Bay was led by Isaiah Johnson with 19 points, Joe
Sherburne had 13 points, 11 in the first half.
For most of the game, the Blue Dukes appeared they were
ready to send a shockwave through the state.
Germantown hasn’t lost a North Shore Conference since the
2009-10 season, a span of 54 games. Plus, the Warhawks haven’t lost a home game
since losing to Middleton in the 2009-10 season, a span of 49 games.
Germantown led 32-29 at halftime and it was a 41-36
advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
“I kept subbing, trying to find combinations,” Showalter
said.
“We’ve got three senior captains that know this is their
team and that they have to step up,” he added.
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