Published: Jan. 8, 2014
West vs. East
Not just bragging rights on the line
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News Sports Editor
Yes, the West Bend East versus West Bend West rivalry is
unique.
However, for the first time in recent memory, Thursday’s
boys basketball game has more at stake than just in-house bragging rights.
Positioning in the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference is at
stake as East and West try to stay within reach of conference-leading Wisconsin
Lutheran. The same Vikings team that beat East on Friday night and has won 22
straight conference games and eight straight league titles.
A loss for East or West will make winning or even contending
for the WLT crown a bigger challenge moving into the second half of the season.
“When we lost to Wisco, we did fall one game behind them,” East coach Ryan
Tomczyk said. “It just makes it that much more important for us. The goal for
us is to compete for the conference title. Whether we’re playing West or
anybody else.”
East won both matchups last season against West. However,
West had been in control of the series before last season, winning eight of the
previous 10 matchups.
“They got us twice last year and I think that still sits on
the minds of our returning players,” West coach Ryan Wietor said. “But we can’t
think about that too much.
“For us to move forward, every game is crucial, not just the
East-West game,” he added. “You try to instill that it is a conference game and
that we’re going to approach it the same. We want to take strides at being at
the top of the conference and you have to beat the teams in front of us.”
Going into Thursday night, East is ahead of West in the WLT
standings.
East will go into the game, which is slated to start at 7:15
p.m., with a 7-4 overall record (4-1 in the WLT), while West is 4-5 (3-2).
Not since at least 2002 has each team gone into the first
East-West game with at least a .500 record. West is a game under .500, but has
played a tough schedule, with eight of its first nine games having been on the
road, including a pair of games at the John Chekouras Tournament at Homestead
High School in Mequon.
The Spartans lost to Homestead in the championship of that
tournament after beating Waupun, which is led by Mason Domask, who is in the
top 15 in scoring in the state.
West is coming off a loss Friday at Hartford Union, a game
Wietor wasn’t pleased about with his team.
“I think they had a really good game plan against us,”
Wietor said of Hartford. “I don’t think our guys stepped up to the challenge.”
The Spartans are led by twin brothers Andrew and Jacob
Duening. The duo is averaging more than 23 points per game. Mike Frei is
averaging 9 points per game and Kyle Wilde is averaging 8.
“Their size is definitely going to give us a challenge,”
Tomczyk said. “It puts stress on us to block out and rebound.
“The X-factor is needing someone to come into the game and
give us a lift.”
The Suns have dropped three straight since a 7-1 start, its
best in more than a decade. However, like West, East has lost to tough
competition, including Milwaukee Rufus King and Wisconsin Lutheran.
Senior Collin Liebherr is having a strong season, averaging
15.3 points per game, which is second in the conference behind Watertown’s Jake
Larkin (17.3). Alex Manhardt and Ben Vande Zande are also averaging double
figures for East at 12.3 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
“I like the way they play the game,” Wietor said. “They play
hard, they play confident, they shoot the heck out of the basketball.”
East won’t play Wisconsin Lutheran until Feb. 11 at
Wisconsin Lutheran, while the Spartans will get the Vikings on Jan. 28 in West
Bend.
Both teams know a program that’s won eight straight
conference titles, such as Wisconsin Lutheran, can quickly run away with the
title if they can’t keep up.
In addition, Slinger is right in the mix at 4-1 in the WLT.
“It does put a little bit of extra sense of urgency,”
Tomczyk said. “It’s going to be an exciting game because both teams are on the
rise.”
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