Huge game up next for Ike boys Friday...other notes

Published on: 1/18/2012

Looking ahead to Friday for the teams I cover, there are some huge games to look at, but none bigger than Whitnall at New Berlin Eisenhower in a battle for first.

WHITNALL: Coach Kent Kroupa's squad has the best record in the Black Division (8-1) and overall (12-1). They have won four straight games since losing their only game to Ike's cross-town rival NB West, 51-50.

The Falcons are a well-balanced team which makes them hard to stop. 6-foot wing Luke Mentkowski (13.3) and 6-2 wing Stephen Pelkofer (12.9) lead the scoring attack. 6-0 wing Michael Bonin (7.6), 5-11 PG/wing Danny Weymier (8.7), PG/wing Sam Mentkowski (6.4) and 6-2 wing Ian Ray (9.3) average between 6.4 and 13.3 points game. 6-6 post Bryan Nagy (7.0) cleans up underneath.

EISENHOWER: When you are 8-2, 11-3, it is hard to say your team is struggling a bit. But after starting the year, 7-0, the Lions are 4-3 in their last 7 games. They are 2-2 in their last 4 games. Their losses have come to South Milwaukee, 60-52, last Friday; at St. Thomas More, 61-54, and Pius XI, 61-48, in their holiday tourney. 

The Lions, of course, by sophomore PG Reed Timmer (18.6) and senior forward Keith Kahlfeldt (14.6), an excellent 1-2 duo. 6-1 guard Sandro Pesquiera (9.3) is their third consistent scorer.

6-3 guard Mitch Arman (5.0), 5-10 PG Gerald Bufford III (4.0) and 6-0 guard John Crowley (3.8) are also key players who must step up in this game and help the big two.

Veteran Ike coach Dave Scheidegger has talked about his team still working on finding their roles and discovering who they are - Friday night would be a great time to do that.

I will be on hand for that battle.

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Congrats to Brookfield East coach Kelly Lam's team for snapping an 8-game losing streak last night by beating Greenfield, 39-34. Christy Johnson, a 5-1 sophomore guard, drilled in 17 points, including seven in the fourth quarter when East won the game with a 14-8 run. The Lady Spartans (3-10) are last (0-5) in the Greater Metro, but they need to beat teams with similar talent and last night was a huge win for their confidence.

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My player of the week in the BrookfieldNOW was Central's Anna Liewen, who scored 52 points in two games. Liewen needs to step big time the rest of the way for the Lady Lancers to have a winning record. Sarah Fotsch and Liewen have been crushing it on the boards, Lydia Rohde is becoming more aggressive at the point and some others have been improving.

The Lady Lancers (3-2, 6-5), who have won an amazing four titles in a row, face a HUGE test at Sussex Hamilton (5-0, 9-0) on Friday.

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Both of New Berlin West's basketball teams are on a roll. The boys team (8-3, 10-4) has won five in a row and 8 of 9 and the girls (8-3, 9-4) have won four in a row and 6 of 7.