Catholic Central rolls Waterford for 7th straight victory

Heiligenthal tallies 27 and 13, Rueber runs the show

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

Any time a school of 150 students travels to a hostile environment of a school with more than 1,000 students, the odds are stacked.

On Tuesday night at Waterford Union High School, the Catholic Central boys basketball continued building momentum toward the approaching postseason by smashing those odds with a sledgehammer.

The Toppers overcame an 8-0 deficit early and utilized a 10-0 run late to pull away from the Wolverines with a 57-41 nonconference victory.

It was Catholic Central’s seventh straight win (13-7).

Point guard Aaron Rueber scored 11 points and only turned the ball over once, as he controlled the offense and consistently beat full-court pressure from Waterford.

Ben Heiligenthal scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Finally, Frank Koehnke, a sophomore, took Waterford’s leading scorer Chris Saltzmann out of the game, limiting the 17-point-per-game scorer to 13.

“It was a game of runs,” said Catholic Central head coach Kyle Scott. “We’re playing well. We play in a tough league, and we’re tested every night. This whole streak, it’s not about going out and winning, it’s about asking ourselves, ‘How can we play to our best?’”

Scott said Heiligenthal, who is averaging 21.4 points per game to lead the area, is a “workhorse” every night.

“Ben is very opportunistic and crafty,” he said.

Scott said the offense calls set plays every time down the court, and while the team’s encouraged to push the ball in transition if possible, Scott has confidence in Rueber to sometimes make the call.

“He’s hyper-competitive,” Scott said. “He’s been outstanding. He doesn’t turn the ball over, ever.”

Koehnke added eight points, and Brandon Vandehei tallied seven.

Saltzmann was the only Waterford player in double figures.

As a team, Catholic Central out-rebounded Waterford, 20-8, shot 52 percent from the field and 70 percent from the line.

Catholic Central will try to keep it going Saturday at Whitefish Bay Dominican, the defending WIAA Division 4 state champion. The Toppers lost the first matchup, 67-52, on Jan. 21 in Burlington.