Xavier boys basketball jumps on Menasha early, rolls to Bay Conference win

By Paul Lecker
AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – A Bay Conference title and a possible No. 1 seed in the WIAA playoffs are within reach for the Xavier boys basketball team. On Tuesday against Menasha, the Hawks took a positive step toward accomplishing both.

Xavier made 12 of its first 19 shots from the field, opened up a 19-point lead in the first 11½ minutes and cruised to a 90-67 win over Menasha at the Torchy Clark Gymnasium.

The win is Xavier’s fifth in a row as it improves to 14-1 overall and remains perfect in the Bay Conference at 8-0. Menasha drops to 6-11 and 3-5 in the Bay.

Menasha led briefly at 4-3 before Xavier ripped off six-straight points and the Hawks were off and running.

A 3-pointer by Luke Oelhafen and a basket from Tyler Brightman gave the Hawks a 14-6 lead. Following a free throw and a 3-pointer by Tayden Wilke for Menasha, Xavier scored the next 15 points to take control of the game with a 29-10 lead.

“It was a very balanced effort,” Xavier coach Matt Klarner said. “Everyone on the roster was touching the ball and moving the ball. Great team basketball. Everything started with our defense. They (Menasha) are a very quick and athletic team, and we did a great job of keeping the ball in front of us in the first half and led to a lot of transition opportunities.”

Hayden Quimby hit a 3-pointer and Brightman had a dunk to spark a 12-5 run to close the half and put Xavier up 52-25 at the break.

Brightman, who finished 12-for-14 from the field, had nine points of his 25 points in the opening 7:40 of the second half to up Xavier’s lead to 71-34 and from there the reserves took over for the Hawks.

A total of 14 different players scored in the win as the Hawks shot 57 percent from the field (36-for-63) and made 11 of 23 from 3-point range. Nine players connected from deep, with Quimby going 3-for-4 and finishing with 11 points. Sam Pfefferle kicked in 10 and Logan Ramczk nine in the victory.

Josiah Hibbler had 12 points, and Jean Claude Mukome and Chase Lukasavage both had 11 for Menasha.

“It was a great team win, and now we have to change gears quickly for Thursday,” Klarner said.

Xavier plays at home again Thursday against West De Pere, which is one-half game behind the Hawks at 8-1 in the Bay Conference. Game time is 7 p.m.

Hawks 90, Bluejays 67
Menasha   25   42   –   67
Xavier   52   38   –   90
MENASHA (67): Jean Claude Mukome 5-13 1-1 11, Josiah Hibbler 4-8 4-5 12, Parker Wienandt 0-5 3-4 3, Jacob Coopman 0-1 0-0 0, David Stuart 1-4 0-0 2, Trayveon Lockridge 3-8 3-8 9, Trevor DeBriyn 1-2 0-0 3, Tayden Wilke 3-7 0-0 8, Chase Lukasavage 4-5 1-1 11, Levi Miller 3-5 0-0 8. FG: 24-58. FT: 12-19. 3-pointers: 7-21 (Miller 2-3, Lukasavage 2-3, Wilke 2-3, DeBriyn 1-2, Stuart 0-1, Wienandt 0-2, Hibbler 0-2, Mukome 0-5). Rebounds: 30 (Lockridge 12). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 6-11, 3-5 Bay Conference.
XAVIER (90): Eli Mares 1-1 0-0 2, Sam Pfefferle 2-7 5-7 10, Hayden Quimby 4-7 0-0 11, Isaiah Des Jardins 1-3 0-0 3, Joe Gallucci 1-3 0-0 2, Reid Hietpas 2-5 0-0 4, Reed Flick 0-2 0-0 0, Luke Krull 3-3 0-0 7, Matthew Potter 1-3 0-0 2, Tyler Brightman 12-14 0-0 25, Luke Oelhafen 2-4 2-2 7, Michael Kippenhan 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Ramczyk 4-6 0-1 9, Kyler Bleck 1-1 0-0 2, Jonah Gentry 1-1 0-0 3, Cole Hietpas 1-2 0-0 3. FG: 36-63. FT: 7-10. 3-pointers: 11-23 (Quimby 3-4, Krull 1-1, Gentry 1-1, C. Hietpas 1-1, Oelhafen 1-1, Brightman 1-1, Ramczyk 1-3, Pfefferle 1-3, Des Jardins 1-3, R. Hietpas 0-1, Potter 0-1, Kippenhan 0-1, Flick 0-2). Rebounds: 32 (Pfefferle 6, Quimby 6). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 14-1, 8-0 Bay Conference.