Not long after girls 3-point record goes down, Berezowitz breaks mark held by Romo, Geiger
By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
He wasn’t even feeling well before the game, spiking a fever in warm-ups.
But shooting a basketball is something Joey Berezowitz has been doing since he was a young boy, fetching balls at practice for his dad, coach Steve Berezowitz, and a little illness wasn’t going to stop Joey from making history on Friday, Jan. 24.
Taking on host Lake Geneva Badger, Joey Berezowitz knocked down eight 3-pointers to set a new school record and helped the Demons defeated the Badgers, 67-54, in a Southern Lakes Conference contest.
Joey broke the previous record of seven, held by Tony Romo and Ben Geiger.
The boys 3-point game record was broken only two weeks after Claire Walby broke the girls 3-point school record.
Joey Berezowitz was on fire in the first half, hitting six triples en route to a 34-point performance.
Burlington was able to break open a close game at the half with a 34-25 second half.
Joey credited Nick Klug, Burlington’s all-time leading scorer, for pushing him to be his best.
“Before the game I didn’t feel great at all, I was running a fever,” Joey Berezowitz said. “Then when I hit my first couple threes, I started to feel better. My shot felt great that night. In warm-ups, I was hitting most of my shots, and I made some minor adjustments prior to the game and it ended up helping me greatly.”
“All I was worried about during the game was to get a win with a short-handed team. We had lots of guys out sick, so that was tough. Honestly, I wasn’t thinking about the record until some of my teammates said something to me at halftime telling me that I was two away from breaking it.”
For much of last week, the Demons were only able to practice with five or six players, because several were out with sickness.
Only nine players suited up against Badger.
A proud father
Steve Berezowitz was especially proud of his son, who added that it was special to break the record of his idol while getting a win.
“I am very proud of Joey for breaking the record shared by two of my former players, Ben Geiger and Tony,” Steve Berezowitz said. “Joey has spent an enormous amount of time in the gym since he was young trying to be the best player he can be. What I appreciate the most is he cared more about our team success Friday night than a record.”
The Demons found a way to grind out a win with limited numbers, and they learned Logan Swantz will be out for the year and must undergo shoulder surgery.
On Friday, Dylan Minnich stepped up with 19 points.
“Dylan was a much-needed spark for us,” Steve Berezowitz said. “Badger made a major effort to stop our post play, so we needed our guards to be aggressive and Dylan played a great game for us.”
Joey Berezowitz said his father taught him the game at a young age, and he fell in love with it right away.
After years of putting up thousands of 3-point shots, it’s no surprise he caught fire and made history.
“I have been in the gym since I was born,” Joey Berezowitz said. “I have worked harder than most could imagine. I found a passion for basketball, and that is because of my father teaching me the game at such a young age. I learned that with a good attitude and 100 percent effort, you can do anything. I’ve shot thousands and thousands of shots in my life, and that’s where I began to become really good at shooting from beyond the three-point line.”
Steve Berezowitz said the team will keep pressing on and battling the flu bug as the second half of the SLC season begins.
For Joey, he will keep firing away from beyond the arc, but team success is the top priority.
“From this point on I’m going to keep working hard to try to get my team as many wins as I can,” Joey Berezowitz said. “We have great goals as a team, and as we start the last stretch of our season we are going to do our very best to try and accomplish them.”
-
-
-
-
-