By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports editor
The second quarter of both games between the Burlington and Waterford High School basketball teams has been all BHS this year.
The Demons proved that again Friday night, rallying from a 15-11 deficit after the first quarter with a killer defensive effort in the second en route to a 67-44 victory.
BHS improved to 8-1 in the Southern Lakes Conference with the victory, a game ahead of Union Grove and Waterford.
BHS coach Steve Berezowitz wasn’t thrilled to pick up the victory, though. The rivalry between the two schools made for a great crowd, he said.
“It was a great crowd. It was a good atmosphere,” Berezowitz said. “To me, that’s what high school basketball should be about.
“Sometimes a good rivalry brings that energy out,” he added. “I’d love to play with that kind of environment every time.”
Burlington weathered an early run by the Wolverines, who started by hitting their first five shots. The Demons closed the gap by the end of the first quarter, though – and then went on a 19-4 run in the second quarter.
Waterford didn’t score in the second until about 1:30 was left, and got two baskets from senior Zach Fisher to keep the quarter from being a complete loss.
Waterford coach Mickey Mala said that the Demons managed to grab a momentum swing and run with it in the second quarter.
“We were looking at taking a timeout at 21-15,” Mala said. “It wasn’t a fast run. Then we missed two free throws, and we missed another two free throws, and you could see our demeanor change.”
That trend continued in the third quarter, said Mala. The Wolverines had a chance to get within five points, but missed an easy basket and saw Burlington go down to the other end and score.
The Demons ended up with a 37-25 advantage in the second half to blow the game wide open.
Burlington was led by Carson Biedrzycki’s 22 points, but got contributions from the majority of the lineup. Eric Gerber pitched in 14 points and Ty Dennis 11, while Nick Reda put up seven points, nine assists, two steals and two rebounds.
Tim Peterson added seven points and eight rebounds, and two assists, along with Dexter Spieker.
The Wolverines, meanwhile, struggled at the free throw line, hitting just nine of 24 attempts.
“And I think that total got padded in the fourth quarter,” Mala said. “It raised the percentage when the score was already out of hand.
“(The Demons) were never playing when they needed to score,” Mala said.
Greg Steffens finished with 10 points to lead Waterford.
Burlington will be shown on live television Thursday night when the Demons play at Union Grove. The game will be shown on My24 as part of the channel’s “Thursday Night Lights” programming.
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