Burlington High School

Burlington finishes regular season with upset of conference champion Westosha

by Ed Nadolski Views: 7
Burlington sophomore Nick Klug leads the Demons with 15.4 points per game. Westosha Central's Jordan Easthon (5) is averaging 16 points per game. He was cleared to practice Monday after a broken ankle sidelined him for a month. On Thursday morning, Easthon said he expects to be limited in Central's regional final playoff game Friday night at home against Union Grove. (Earlene Frederick/Standard Press)
Burlington sophomore Nick Klug leads the Demons with 15.4 points per game. Westosha Central’s Jordan Easthon (5) is averaging 16 points per game. He was cleared to practice Monday after a broken ankle sidelined him for a month. On Thursday morning, Easthon said he expects to be limited in Central’s regional final playoff game Friday night at home against Union Grove. (Earlene Frederick/Standard Press)

 

By Jason Arndt

Staff Writer

Senior Cal Tully said it best when his Burlington High School squad entered its last Southern Lakes Conference match against title winner Westosha Central.

“We weren’t going to worry about the standings, we were just going to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Tully said. “And we have really been playing with confidence.”

The confidence paid off, as the Demons pulled off a 69-57 upset to finish the season in sole possession of second place in the SLC.

Tully scored all nine of his points in a first half, where the Demons outscored the Falcons 39-19.

Additionally, Tyler Weimer picked up all eight of his points in the first half.

Burlington coach Steve Berezowitz said the key was neutralizing the Falcons’ two leading scorers, Ron Hall and Tre Williams.

Williams, a 5-foot-11 junior, was held to two points and the 6-5 Hall scored 10 points.

“You always have to start with Hall and Tre,” Berezowitz said. “You have to make sure that they don’t get points. That is where you start, and you go from there.”

While the Falcons were without Jordan Easthon due to injury, replacement Lucas Graveley stepped up to score a game-high 18 points.

Nick and Mitch Klug were the Demons’ leading scorers with 16 and 10.

Berezowitz said his squad handled the game like any other in spite of the SLC standings, but noted Thursday’s win came as revenge, after the Falcons defeated 76-64 in its first meeting Jan. 15.

“We didn’t approach this any differently than any other game,” he said. “We defended a little better than the first time we played them.”

However, the game carried special meaning for the Demons’ seniors in their last regular season game.

“These kids get 22 games and I know a lot of kids play outside of school, but these kids only get these many high school games,” he said. “It counts and we just wanted to compete.”

On Friday night, the No. 2-seeded Demons will host No. 7 Wilmot in a regional final.

Burlington beat Wilmot in both regular-season meetings.

Wilmot whipped Jefferson, 88-65, on Tuesday night to move on in the WIAA Division 2 tournament.

Thanks to some sharp outside shooting, Cal Tully (21) has quietly averaged 10.3 points this season. He has made 35 3-pointers in 22 games and shot an impressive 79 percent from the foul line. (Mike Ramczyk/SLN)
Thanks to some sharp outside shooting, Cal Tully (21) has quietly averaged 10.3 points this season. He has made 35 3-pointers in 22 games and shot an impressive 79 percent from the foul line. (Mike Ramczyk/SLN)

 

 

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