The Elcho Hornets were host to the Suring Eagles in the first round of WIAA Division 5 regional play on Tuesday night and advanced to the next round of playoff action with a 68-46 win.
Elcho was seeded No. 7, and Suring was seeded No. 10.
The Hornets came out ready to play, and quick steals resulted in transition baskets from John Slowik (four) and Eugene Reinke (five) to give Elcho an early lead. The boys read the floor well and hit the open players. The boys also did well on the defensive end and communicated well.
Slowik led with 22 points, followed by Reinke with 19. Logan Raith stepped up on the inside with 13, Keegan Klingler scored seven, Angelo Angotti hd three and Owyn Edwards had two.
“The team did well on the boards tonight, which was a big factor in the win,” coach Michelle Kincaid said.
She also credited good hustle and never-quit attitudes when going after the loose balls.
Raith led in rebounds grabbing nine, followed by Klingler with eight, Schmidt with seen, Slowik with four and Nathan Visser with one. Slowik also played heads up with five assists on the night.
“It was nice to see Logan step up and have a solid game on the inside, and we had pretty good balance scoring,” Kincaid said. “Evan Schmidt is our usual ringer from the outside, but tonight he stepped up on the rebounding end, grabbing seven.”
The boys shot 73% from the floor in the first half and 53% in the second half. They also shot 55% from the free throw line.
Suring’s Ethan Cally led his team with 14.
“I am happy for the boys on their regional win at home, and we had a great crowd cheering them on,” Kincaid said.
The Hornets will travel to Three Lakes for a Friday night game against the Blue Jays for the second round of tournament play. Three Lakes, No. 2 seed, defeated No. 15 Lena on Tuesday, 82-24.
ANTIGO’S SEASON ENDSAntigo bowed out of the Division 2 playoffs after losing 70-49 at Merrill on Tuesday.
The Red Robins were seeded No. 11, while the Bluejays were seeded No. 6.
Merrill had a 44-15 lead going into the second. The Bluejays took their foot off the gas pedal, but Antigo’s 34-26 second half advantage wasn’t going to give them the win.
Mason Gray led the Red Robins with 20 points. Jake Verhasselt and Connor Cornelius scored nine each, Gus Schuessler had four, Sam McCann scored three, and Javon Bussey and Trevor Tarras each dropped in two.
Carter Baade led Merrill with 20 points.
Antigo finished the season with a 4-21 mark.
Merrill will now play No. 3 Mosinee on Friday.
CHARGERS LOSE TO WRIGHTSTOWNIn Division 3, No. 11 Wittenberg-Birnamwood traveled to No. 6 Wrightstown on Tuesday and suffered a season-ending 74-53 defeat.
It was a close first half, with Wrightstown leading 33-28, but the hosts opened up the game in the second half, topping the Chargers 41-25 for the 21-point margin of victory.
Mason Meverden led Wittenberg-Birnamwood with 14 points, while Jett Rogowski and Michael Miller each added 12. Jayden Clark and Hayden Miller each scored three points, and Craig Wendell, Marshall Fraaza, Oliver Fraaza and Hudson Miller each scored two. Keegan Schmid scored one point.
Wrightstown was led by Jack Hermann and Marshall Edinger, with each scoring 21 points.
The Chargers end the year at 8-17.
Wrightstown will play Friday against No. 3 Northland Pines, which had a first round bye.
WHITE LAKE LOSES PLAYOFF GAME, WILL AGAIN THURSDAYWhite Lake, seeded No. 14 in its Division 5 bracket, lost 70-23 to No. 3 Gillett on Tuesday, but the Lakers aren’t quite done for the season.
The Lakers will host Wisconsin Valley Lutheran at 7 p.m. Thursday in a makeup Central Wisconsin North Conference game. White Lake is 1-10 in conference play, and Wisconsin Valley Lutheran is 4-7.
Against Gillett, White Lake was outscored 35-13 in the first half and 35-10 in the second half.
Aaron Wickersheim led the Lakers with 10 points, Blake Lambert scored eight, and Brody Kreciak had five.
Jesse DeBauch led Gillett with 26 points.
WABENO/LAONA WINSAlso in Division 5 on Tuesday, No. 6 Wabeno/Laona hosted No. 11 St. Thomas Aquinas and won 77-22.
The Rebels outscored their guests 58-4 in the first half and 19-18 in the second half.
Carter Janesch led the Rebels with 23 points.
Wabeno/Laona will travel to Gillett for a Friday night game.
