SportShorts: Jan. 24

Tosa East boys basketball

The Red Raiders made a 21-10 first-quarter cushion against West Allis Central on Friday, emerging with a 63-56 road victory over the Bulldogs.

Four players reached double figures, led by Anthony Carroll, with 15 points. Nate Moore and Ben Carpenter added 14 points apiece, and Ben Mihelich hit all eight of his free-throw attempts and finished with 12 points.

The Red Raiders won their second straight game after snapping a four-game losing streak, and improved to 8-6 overall, with a 4-3 mark in the Greater Metro Conference after one rotation through the league.

Tosa East visits Brookfield East on Jan. 25, looking for an encore to the team's 41-36 victory Dec. 7. Brookfield East, however, has returned the services of Mike Novak, who has averaged close to 20 points per game in six contests since his return from a shoulder injury.

Tosa East hosts Menomonee Falls on Jan. 29.

Tosa West boys basketball

Slipping to 5-6 in Woodland Conference play and 5-10 overall, the Trojans started with a 14-9 lead on Greendale but watched it dissolve Friday in a 71-49 loss.

The Panthers led by a single point at halftime but delivered a 24-6 knockout blow in the third quarter.

"The tempo of the game didn't favor us from the opening tip," Tosa West coach Chad Stelse said. "They did a good job of dictating the pace of the game. It was our worst shooting game of the season; we shot just under 30 percent for the game, and you're not going to beat too many teams shooting that poor from the field. We have not shot well of late, we need to get back to moving the basketball and taking higher-percentage shots.

Steffan Brown scored 11 points to lead Tosa West, and Nakeem Evans finished with 9.

It was the second setback for Tosa West during the week and third consecutive loss overall. On Jan. 15, the Trojans fell to North Shore Conference foe Nicolet, 77-55.

Tosa West led, 17-15, after the first quarter, and trailed by just one point at halftime. But Nicolet's 24-11 run through the third quarter helped put the game out of reach.

"Our energy was up and I liked our defensive effort for the first 16 minutes," Stelse said. "Nicolet changed their defense up halfway through the second quarter, and we had a hard time adjusting. We came out flat to start the second half, and you can't do that against a team as talented as Nicolet."

Andre Carroll scored 16 points and Evans added 11. The Knights (8-7) came into the battle off a surprise win over Whitefish Bay and a near-miss against the state's top-ranked team, Germantown.

Tosa East girls basketball

Wauwatosa East carved out its third win of the year, dominating West Allis Central in a Greater Metro Conference challenge Friday, 44-24. The win came on the heels of a 43-32 loss to Waukesha North in nonconference fare three days earlier.

East (3-11 overall, 1-6 in Greater Metro) had its way with Central (1-11, 0-7) from the get-go, grabbing a 13-2 lead after the first quarter. Katie Salmon finished with 22 points in the victory.

"Even though we split this week with Waukesha North and West Allis Central, we have reason to believe that we are heading in the right direction," Red Raiders coach Rob Hamill said. "Against West Allis Central, we felt that we executed on both ends of the floor very well. We had a number of fast-break opportunities caused by strong defensive effort and we were able to convert a majority of them into points. A conference win is always welcome, and now it is on to focus on a traditional rivalry game against Brookfield East."

That battle comes Friday at home, and it signifies the start of the second wave of league play. Brookfield East won the first meeting this season, 47-39.

North features a one-two inside punch by sisters Jessica and Elizabeth Kelliher, two very tough post players in a Classic 8 Conference chock full of talent.

"Against Waukesha North, a team that we didn't match up well with inside, our squad executed the defensive game plan well and played defense well enough to win," Hamill said. "If we get a few more shots to fall, I think we win that game."

Salmon scored 21 points and has upped her average to 17.6 points per game.