Xavier boys basketball finishes off Fox Valley Lutheran at free throw line to take Crosstown Shootout

Fox Valley Lutheran’s Adam Loberger had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 63-60
loss to Xavier on Saturday at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. (Photo by Paul
Lecker/AppletonSportsPage.com)

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – With Fox Valley Lutheran coming in undefeated and Xavier with just one loss, the Crosstown Shootout boys basketball battle was expected to be a tight one. The two teams delivered.

Xavier was up by as much as six on a few occasions, and Fox Valley Lutheran had a five-point lead in the first half, but both teams were always within striking distance and the outcome was settled in the closing minutes.

The Hawks used an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a lead in the final 2½ minutes and held on to send FVL to its first loss of the season with a 63-60 decision on Saturday afternoon at Fox Valley Lutheran High School.

The win is Xavier’s second straight in the Crosstown Shootout rivalry as the Hawks run their record to 11-1. Fox Valley Lutheran is now 9-1.

“We definitely relied on our defense today,” Xavier coach Matt Klarner said. “Two seniors, Luke Krull and Reid Hietpas, took on key assignments on their top players.  Their effort and intensity was the catalyst for a great defensive effort. I’m proud of how we fought to get the lead in the final five minutes, then took care of the ball to close out.  Great victory overall and it feels great for our seniors, especially.”

Fox Valley Lutheran coach Jay Wendland said he felt the game was decided by a few mistakes from the Foxes in the final minutes.

“We had a couple of possessions that were left empty, some turnovers and they came down on got some easy buckets,” Wendland said. “They were able to get their little run and we weren’t able to hit a shot when we needed to.”

The first half saw 11 lead changes and four ties in a back-and-forth affair.

Tyler Brightman scored Xavier’s first seven points, and 3-pointers from Logan Ramczyk and Isaiah Des Jardins gave the Hawks a 17-15 lead.

FVL fought back and eventually opened up its biggest lead of the game at 29-24 following a 3-pointer from Adam Loberger, but the Hawks responded with a 10-2 run to close the half over the final 4½ minutes.

Three-straight baskets by Brightman, who scored 13 of his team-high 18 points in the first half, and a steal and layup from Sam Pfefferle gave Xavier a 34-31 at halftime.

Brightman opened the second half with a 3-pointer for Hawks before they went cold and didn’t score for nearly five minutes.

The Foxes cut the lead to two on a basket from Graham Feidt and stayed close until knotting up the game at 45-45 on Feidt’s two free throws with 9:08 to go.

Sam Ferge followed with a pair of hoops and the Foxes had a four-point lead with 6:34 left.

FVL stayed in front until an inside basket by Hayden Quimby tied it for the Hawks at 54-54 with 2:30 remaining.

The Foxes wouldn’t score for the next more than two minutes and even though Quimby’s hoop was the last made basket of the game for Xavier, the Hawks were able to get to the free throw line and do enough to pull ahead.

Xavier went 9-for-12 at the line in the final 2:07 to forge ahead and keep the lead despite 3-pointers from Loberger and Lucas Papendorf for the Foxes in the last 12 seconds.

Despite the loss, Coach Wendlund said he is looking forward to the second half of the season as the Foxes search for a third-straight North Eastern Conference title.

“I’m really excited to see what this group can do,” Wendland said. “We graduated five, and the one that was maybe going to be our starting point guard moved to Arizona. We had a lot of holes to fill and a lot of unknowns, and I think some guys are starting to come into their own. I’m excited to see what we can do as hit this really big stretch in our conference season.”

Pfefferle ended up with 15 points for Xavier.

Loberger topped FVL with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Ferge added 13 points in the loss.

Xavier hosts Wittenberg-Birnamwood for another nonconference game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Fox Valley Lutheran is also back in action Tuesday with a North Eastern Conference game at Little Chute starting at 7 p.m.

Hawks 63, Foxes 60
Xavier   34   29   –   63
Fox Valley Lutheran   30   30   –   60
XAVIER (63): Sam Pfefferle 4-7 7-11 15, Hayden Quimby 2-9 4-6 8, Isaiah Des Jardins 2-3 0-0 5, Joe Gallucci 0-1 0-0 0, Reid Hietpas 0-4 0-0 0, Luke Krull 3-8 2-2 9, Tyler Brightman 8-15 0-0 18, Luke Oelhafen 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Ramczyk 3-7 1-1 8. FG: 22-55. FT: 14-20. 3-pointers: 5-27 (Brightman 2-6, Des Jardins 1-2, Ramczyk 1-4, Krull 1-5, Gallucci 0-1, Hietpas 0-2, Pfefferle 0-3, Quimby 0-4). Rebounds: 37 (Brightman 10). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-1.
FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN (60): Sam Ferge 6-14 0-0 13, Graham Feidt 3-11 2-2 8, Lucas Papendorf 4-8 0-0 9, Adam Loberger 5-14 5-7 18, Trenton Heyn 0-0 0-0 0, Liam Heiges 4-9 0-2 8, Elijah Last 2-5 0-0 4, Gabe Heiges 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 24-61. FT: 7-11. 3-pointers: 5-20 (Loberger 3-7, Ferge 1-3, Papendorf 1-3, L. Heiges 0-2, Feidt 0-5). Rebounds: 33 (Loberger 10). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-1.