Three-game skid against top competition exposes Demons’ deficiencies
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
Nothing went right for the Burlington High School boys varsity basketball team in a tough nonconference matchup at Division 1 Mukwonago Tuesday night.
The result was a 64-33 loss, the Demons’ third straight, and suddenly a 4-1 start to the season is at the .500 mark at 4-4.
After the game, head coach Steve Berezowitz said it was a tough stretch against Evansville, Monona Grove,
which was in a Division 2 sectional final last year and Mukwonago, which plays in the Classic 8, the deepest conference in southeastern Wisconsin.
“We knew what we were going to get against three good teams, but we’ll see how we respond,” Berezowitz said. “We had a hard time tonight just doing our stuff.”
“Obviously they’re physical. We defended well in the first half, but we had a hard time getting our offense going. That started happening, and it got away from us a little bit. You’re going to have games like that sometimes.”
Burlington didn’t have any players in double digits in scoring, led by Bryan Sturtevant’s nine.
Leading scorer Nick Klug, who averages 15 points per game, was held scoreless.
Klug expressed his frustrations after the game.
“Mukwonago is a good team,” he said. “We knew that coming in. But it makes us feel better knowing we’re getting back into the conference season.”
“We’re doing well overall. We need to work on some things, including myself and the team.”
When asked about his role as a leader, the point guard said it’s in his position’s nature.
“As point guard, you need to be a leader,” he said. “I need to be a leader. We need to get back to what we do well and have a good week of practice. We must get back to fundamentals and doing the right thing.”
Berezowitz said there are a lot of conference games left, and he’s confident the Demons will bounce back thanks to strong team chemistry.
“It’s hard to get back into the swing of things with SLC play,” he said. “It’s still Jan. 5, and we have a long way to go. We’re learning a lot about what we have and what changes we need to make. Sometimes it’s a tough pill to swallow.”
Berezowitz said players are frustrated after such a lopsided loss, but he said they’ll remain positive and look to come back Saturday.
Badger is the defending SLC champ, but this year has been a struggle.
Lake Geneva is 3-6 overall and 2-2 in the SLC.
However, Badger is coming off a 69-56 win at Kenosha Tremper Tuesday night.
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