Toppers girls, boys host Racine Lutheran tonight at 5:45
By Mike Ramczyk
It’s been a trying season for the Catholic Central boys basketball team.
One year after advancing to the WIAA Division 5 state championship game, the young Toppers are still learning how to play together, and wins are few and far between.
But Monday night was one of those epic, character-building contests, where a team takes the experience and uses it to turn things around.
The host Toppers welcomed Division 2 Waterford into Topper Hall, and after trailing by as many as four or five points during four extra sessions, Catholic Central finally pulled out a 62-60 victory.
In the fourth overtime, John Pum’s traditional three-point play tied the game at 60-60. Then, after a stop, senior Cole Pankau bucketed a game-winning layup with five ticks on the clock.
“It was a hard-fought back and forth game all night,” said Toppers head coach Kyle Scott. “Our kids just showed a lot of perseverance and mental toughness. Our defense was great all night.”
“We’ll take a win whenever we can.”
It was another big game offensively for junior Frank Koehnke, who led all scorers with 30 points and added 10 rebounds.
Koehnke was on fire, going 10-for-20 from the floor, 3-of-9 from three-point land and 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Pum added 13 points, and Chad Zirbel contributed six rebounds.
Point guard Aaron Rueber led the way with three assists.
Down three at the half, the Toppers’ 26-23 second half lifted them to overtime, where they deadlocked the Wolverines 2-2, 3-3 and 6-6 before outscoring Waterford 7-5 in the fourth extra frame.
Matt Borchardt led Waterford with 20 points, and Matt Korman added 14 points.
Waterford hit seven triples and shot 15-for-21 from the line.
However, Catholic Central shot 50 percent from the floor as a team and held Waterford to 38 percent.
The hectic schedule continues for the Toppers, who played Faith Christian Tuesday night and host Racine Lutheran Friday.
“We’re learning to play with one another and differently than last year. My hope is to peak at the right time and be at our very best in March,” Scott said.
Catholic Central 54, Faith Christian 34
The Toppers enjoyed a big second half, outscoring the visiting Eagles, 33-20, in nonconference action at Catholic Central Tuesday night.
Catholic Central is now 4-7 overall.
Koehnke scored 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting, and Pankau added 14 and eight rebounds.
Rueber dished out four assists.
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