Foote is team’s defensive stopper, senior captain
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Six of the Catholic Central boys basketball team’s nine losses this season have come in the game’s final two minutes.
One year after a 21-5 record, the Toppers are 2-10 and reeling in the Metro Classic Conference standings.
Just when things seemed to turn around with a victory Jan. 13, the team recently suffered a much more serious loss.
The Toppers found out that senior captain Gavin Foote will miss at least a month of action with a broken fibula.
The guard, who averages six points per game and routinely shuts down the opposing team’s best player, was a three-year starter.
“Gavin’s the heart and soul of our team,” said coach Kyle Scott. “The kid is tough as nails. It was a huge blow to lose him.”
On Wednesday, Foote detailed his injury.
“I’m out four to six weeks,” he said while displaying a large medical boot. “But I think I’ll be back this season. There’s a lot of pain right now.”
In a Jan. 10 against Racine Lutheran, Foote took a knee to his calf from an opposing player. He came out of the game and went back in, but the pain wouldn’t subside.
The following Monday, Scott said Foote found out it was a broken fibula.
The Toppers are 1-2 since the loss of Foote, and Scott is trying to stay positive.
“Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong this season,” he said. “But I’m proud of the kids for the way they’ve fought. We’ve been in every single game this year.”
Catholic Central has lost on three buzzer beaters this season, and it has held several fourth-quarter leads only to see them slip away.
“I want to see us finish out a game,” Scott said.
Another prime example was Saturday night at home against county foe Union Grove.
The game was tied with three minutes to play, but the Broncos knocked down their foul shots at the end to steal a 48-41 victory.
Union Grove outscored the Toppers, 18-11, in the fourth quarter.
Ben Heiligenthal led the Toppers with 23 points, and Spencer Wilker added 16.
Alex Van Dyke paced the Broncos with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
“We struggled in the fourth quarter,” Scott said.
The road doesn’t get any easier for the Toppers, who play in one of the tougher conferences in the state.
On Tuesday, Central battled Kenosha St. Joe’s, the No. 9 team in the state in Division 4.
On Thursday, Catholic Central travels to Whitefish Bay Dominican, the No. 1 team in Division 4. Dominican features four D1 college recruits, led by center Diamond Stone, one of the most highly-coveted players in the country.
The national five-star recruit is 6-foot-10, averages 24 points and 12 rebounds and has narrowed his college choices to Wisconsin, Duke, Maryland, Connecticut and Oklahoma State.
“I imagine Stone will be in the NBA in a couple years,” Scott said. “I want to see us finish out a game.”
Kenosha St. Joe’s 57, Catholic Central 50
Tuesday night’s game at Catholic Central High School was a microcosm of the Toppers’ season.
Catholic Central hung tough until the fourth quarter, when the Trojans pulled away for the Metro Classic Conference victory.
The Toppers dropped to 2-10 overall.
The Topper trailed, 40-37, through three quarters to the state-ranked Trojans, but St. Joe’s utilized a 17-13 fourth quarter to pull away.
Catholic Central shot a solid 44 percent from the floor, but only was 3-for-5 from the line.
Wilker led the charge with 21 points, including four triples. He added eight rebounds.
Heiligenthal added 12 points.
Brandon Vanden Hei and Aaron Reuber each tallied three assists.
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