Burlington’s sharpshooter gets Demons off to fast start
By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
Senior guard Joey Berezowitz was in the zone for the Burlington Demons Tuesday night at home against rival Waterford.
The diminutive sharpshooter, who can pull up from the parking lot and cross over just about anyone off the dribble, scored 22 of his game-high 31 points in the first half, as Burlington held off the scrappy Wolverines, 69-60.
Burlington improved to 6-2 overall and 6-1 in the Southern Lakes Conference, while Waterford dropped to 3-3 in the SLC.
Berezowitz added six rebounds, and the Demons outrebounded Waterford, 69-60.
Waterford’s first eight possessions against Burlington did not go well. The Wolverines finished with four air balls, committed a turnover, got called twice for traveling and scored only two points.
“After that, we settled in and played better,” Wolverines coach Nick Roeglin said. “We could not contain their best player.”
The Demons maintained mostly a double-digit lead in the second half, until the Wolverines knocked down two straight triples to cut it to 8 points with a few minutes left.
Gabe Riska led Waterford with 20 points, and he drained a runner and a 3-pointer to keep the score close.
But Dane Kornely, who provided a team-high seven rebounds, scored all eight of his points in the second half, and sophomore JR Lukenbill’s 15 points and jumping ability kept the Wolverines uncomfortable in the paint.
Berezowitz hit five triples, and Burlington connected on 42% of shots beyond the arc with six total.
Ethan Safar added 11 points.
Throughout the second half, Burlington iced the game at the line.
They got to the charity stripe a whopping 35 times, hitting 23.
“We need to focus on being better defensively,” Waterford’s Roeglin said. “We need our guys to make it more difficult for the other team to get to the rim. There were too many straight-line drives for layups.”
Burlington plays Lake Geneva Badger Friday. The Wolverines are scheduled to host Westosha Central at 7 p.m.
Correspondent Chris Bennett contributed to this story.
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