Klug, Geiger take over in fourth quarter, OT
By Mike Ramczyk
They say great players make great plays in big games.
Burlington’s Nick Klug and Luke Geiger took that theory personally Tuesday night in a battle for first place at Westosha Central High School.
The Demons overcame an eight-point deficit late in the fourth quarter, capped by a Klug triple to sent it into overtime, and Geiger took over in the extra frame to push Burlington past the Falcons, 72-66, and into first place in the Southern Lakes Conference at 5-1.
Klug, who scored 16 first-half points, was shut down in the second half until he connected on two 3-pointers in the final 23 seconds to send the game to overtime.
With 7.9 seconds left in regulation, Klug pulled up well beyond the arc on the left elbow and drained it over two Falcon defenders.
Klug led all scorers with 22 points, and Geiger slashed to the hoop repeatedly in the extra frame for the team’s final six points, including a layup and four free throws.
Geiger added 20, and now the Demons, who are finally starting to reach full strength, sit atop the SLC, along with the 5-1 Falcons.
“In the second half, they really keyed on me and didn’t let me catch the ball,” Klug said after the game. “I tried to do my best to get my teammates open to get them shots. It was a great team win tonight.”
“On the deep three, my defender kept sagging off so I knew I had some space. Our bench really stepped up at the right time.”
Burlington (8-6 overall) head coach Steve Berezowitz said it’s still early, and the standings aren’t significant right now.
“It’s early in the season, and we’re starting over,” he said. “We got Brock and Dale back, and we have a lot to work on. Everything’s been a little bit off.”
“Westosha has a deep team, and we got into foul trouble in the first half, so I’m proud of our bench for staying the course. I was proud of our guys for making that run late in the fourth. We found a way to grind it out.”
Burlington jumped out to a 37-30 halftime lead, but the Falcons picked up the defensive intensity to open the second half.
Westosha’s Tre Williams, who led the Falcons with 18 points, hit a triple to give his team a 46-45 lead, its first of the second half, at the 8:30 mark.
Central kept pouring it on, as a Nic Frederick triple and a Jaeden Zackery layup gave the Falcons a 53-47 cushion with 4:26 to play.
Cooper Brinkman’s top-of-the-key 3-pointer gave Westosha its largest lead at 56-48, but that’s when Burlington’s depth shined.
Harrison George and Drew Pesick picked up inside buckets, and a Geiger three cut it to 58-55 with 1:54 left.
But Williams stole an inbound pass under the Burlington hoop, drove the length of the floor and finger-rolled a layup to extend the lead to 62-55 with a minute left.
After another Geiger three, Westosha’s Jaeden Zackery had a chance to put Westosha up by six on the free-throw line, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one and Klug buried the first of his two triples.
Demons dominate OT
In overtime, Burlington outscored Westosha, 8-2, and it started with good ball movement on the first possession, culminating with a quick George pass inside to Halbach, who sank a 10-footer.
Halbach followed on the defensive end with an emphatic block that fired up his teammates.
Westosha went ice cold in the extra session, including a possession with five missed shots. The loose ball found its way into the arms of a diving Klug, who called timeout with 35 seconds left and the Demons up 68-66.
“We had some good ball movement in overtime,” Berezowitz said. “We just want to battle. All we talked about was competing. We’re not there yet, we have a long way to go.”
Junior center Brock Halbach, who missed most of the season with a broken bone in his ankle and a high ankle sprain, scored eight points in his first game since Dec. 6.
Senior Dale Damon, who played in his second game since returning from injury, added eight points.
“I give Brock a ton of credit,” Berezowitz said. “He’s a tough kid.”
Halbach said it felt good to be back on the court.
“It was amazing,” he said. “This is a great game to be back against our conference rivals. It was an overwhelming feeling. We needed to win.”
Brinkman scored 15 points for the Falcons, and Frederick added 13.
Westosha Central (7-4 overall) coach James Hyllberg said it was a big game, but there is plenty of basketball left.
“It’s not do or die,” he said. “We got some good looks and some 3-pointers in the second half, and we held Klug in the second half. You have to give it up to him, he’s a great player.”
“We had five straight open looks in overtime, and I wasn’t mad at the effort. Sometimes, shots just don’t go in.”
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