Team finishes challenging 8-day stretch
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
The Union Grove boys basketball team went through the arduous task of playing four games in a span of eight days.
But according to coach David Pettit, there isn’t necessarily wrong with that, and sometimes breaks the monotony of practicing against each other every day.
“It is almost like an NBA schedule,” said Pettit, noting a makeup game against Southern Lakes Conference opponent Delavan-Darien Feb. 3 started the grueling stretch.
The Broncos, who rallied to defeat the Comets, have gone 1-2 since the thrilling come from behind victory.
Union Grove (8-9, 6-4 SLC), meanwhile, will look to sweep the Comets in a Friday, Feb. 14 matchup at Delavan-Darien.
Pettit, whose team rallied from 16-point deficit, hopes the Broncos start off with a faster approach against the bigger Comets.
The team enters Friday’s game tied for third place with Burlington in conference play.
Union Grove, which hosts the Demons on Feb. 18, beat Burlington 48-46 in a Jan. 3 road match.
Shorewood 62, Union Grove 57
On Monday against visiting Shorewood, the Broncos held a 35-34 halftime advantage, but the Greyhounds outscored Union Grove 28-22 in the second half to come away with the non conference win.
Pettit acknowledged his team would face a daunting task against two Shorewood guards who scored a combined 45 points.
Shorewood’s Chris Farrington, who knocked in four 3-pointers, finished with 22 points and seven rebounds while teammate Ahmad Ingram tallied a game-high 23 points along with three steals.
“We knew they were going to be quick, we had a hard time with their quick guards, and they got to use,” Pettit said.
“We knew what they were going to do and couldn’t do anything about it.”
For the Broncos, meanwhile, senior Collin Long led with 18 points, including 17 in the first half.
Long, who shot 46.7 percent from field goal range, added eight rebounds in the paint.
Senior Sam Rampulla, a 6-foot-5 center, contributed a double double with 10 points and 10 boards.
The Broncos also received contributions from junior Kaden Pfeffer, who scored nine points from the arc, where he went 3-for-7.
Shorewood jumped to 10-7 overall and remained idle in the Woodland-East Conference at 6-5.
Indian Trail 70, Union Grove 69
The Broncos’ sluggish start in a Feb. 8 non-conference meeting with visiting Kenosha Indian Trail was too much to overcome as Union Grove lost 70-69.
To the Broncos’ credit, however, they did erase a 19-point deficit and outscored the Hawks 43-41 in the second half.
“We got off to a really slow start, their speed threw us off a little bit at the beginning,” he said. “Once we got settled in things were better in the second half.”
According to Pettit, the game boiled down to the last 10 seconds, when Rampulla made a layup to pull the contest within one-point.
But Rampulla could not draw a foul to force a 3-point play for a chance to tie the game.
Rampulla, who snagged nine rebounds, knocked in a team-leading 20 points while adding two steals. He went 9-for-12 in field goals.
Hayden Domagalski, the next best shooter with 14 points, made critical 3-pointers in the second half to help the Broncos erase their double-digit deficit.
Domagalski, a junior, went 4-for-7 from the perimeter to finish with a 57.1 percent shooting percentage.
“In the second half, Hayden Domagalski got hot from the 3-point line and made some things happen,” he said.
Pfeffer, meanwhile, pitched in 11 points and converted 3 of 5 shots from the arc.
Indian Trail (10-9, 6-6 Southeast Conference) garnered a game-high 26 points from Jerimiah Suber.
Union Grove 77, Wilmot 62
The Broncos defeated visiting Wilmot 77-62 in a Feb. 6 conference contest and brought a battle between Grove’s Long and junior London Glass of the Panthers.
While Long produced a team-leading 22 points, Glass added a game best 24 points, but the Broncos had offensive reinforcements.
“I thought Collin had a very good offensive game,” said Pettit, who indicated Glass was a challenge.
Long went 11-for-16 from field goal range.
As for offensive reinforcements, the Broncos received 18 points from Rampulla, who pulled down 11 rebounds to finish with a double double.
Rampulla converted 4 of 6 free throws and finished 7-for-8 from the field.
Senior Noah Hilarides went 4-for-6 from the charity and tallied 13 points for Union Grove.
Wilmot carried a 40-25 deficit into halftime before breaking even in the second half, where the teams deadlocked at 37 points apiece.
Junior Kevin Sandman pitched in 18 points for Wilmot (6-11, 4-6 SLC).
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