Lake Geneva Badger bounces Burlington, stakes claim as SLC’s best

Badger on fire under legendary coach

LAKE GENEVA – The first-place throw down for Southern Lakes Conference supremacy came down to the final seconds Thursday night at Lake Geneva Badger High School.

Second-place Burlington, which overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game at 62-62, needed a 3-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to send the game into overtime.

Nathaniel Sibley fired a pinpoint baseball pass to the opposite 3-point line to Frankie Hozeska, who gathered and pivoted at the top of the key while three Badger defenders converged. Hozeska quickly darted a pass to the right corner, where long-distance sharpshooter Nick Klug was all alone beyond the arc.

Klug beat the clock, but the ball hit off the front rim and out. Hozeska dropped to the floor face-down in disgust as Badger pulled out the hard-fought, entertaining 65-62 victory.

Lake Geneva, which only a year ago had a losing record under former coach Darin Lottig, is now 11-4 overall and 9-1 in the SLC, a full two games ahead of Burlington, Wilmot and Waterford (7-3).

Hozeska, who finished with 26 points, sparked a 16-9 Burlington run to end the game. He went coast to coast, knifing the Badger defense to tie the game at 62-62 with 25 seconds left. Hozeska scored 12 of the team’s final 16, all of which came after committing his fourth foul.

But Badger senior Lincoln Wieseman showed off his clutch gene, sinking one of two foul shots before icing the win with two free throws with 3.8 seconds left.

Wieseman scored 21 points, many of which came when Badger needed points in the second half. Junior Jake Berhorst led all scorers with 34, including Badger’s first 19 points. He sank five 3-pointers.

Badger finished 17-for-25 from the line, while the Demons only hit 6-for-16.

“I’ve been in those situations before,” Wieseman said of his late free throws. “Bryant (Sontag) came over before and said I’ve put in the work, and it should be easy. He’s a great teammate. They all showed confidence in me. I needed to do it for them.”

Burlington and Badger split the season series, with each winning on its home court. Burlington coach Steve Berezowitz said free throws hurt the Demons tonight.

“Free throws have been an Achille’s heel,” he said. “When you don’t shoot well from the free-throw line, it can get you. They hit a couple big free throws when they needed it.”

“You don’t want to define yourself by winning conference championships. You want to be in the mix, and there are so many things that are out of your control.”

Down 63-62, Burlington had the ball with less than 30 seconds to play and a chance for the lead. Hozeska worked the top of the key in isolation looking for a crack in the man-to-man defense. Just as Hozeska made his move, Badger’s Joe Freeman stripped the ball, gained possession and called timeout. Badger closed it out from there.

“It was a tough pill to swallow,” Hozeska said. “It’s hard to go into the locker room on the losing end after you played your heart out.”

A whole new team

Last year at this time, Badger wasn’t thinking of a winning record, much less a conference title.

Poor chemistry among players led to losses, and several parents and even players were fed up with former coach Darin Lottig.

Things got ugly when a petition listing Lottig’s alleged flaws was signed by parents and sent to Badger’s athletic director.

It was Lottig’s third straight season with a losing record, and the team’s fifth straight losing record after Wisconsin Hall of Fame coach Forrest Larson stepped down from the position in 2009.

This year, Lottig is out, Larson is back, and the Badgers are rolling. One of the league’s highest-scoring teams, Lake Geneva pushes the ball up the floor with ease and pumps 3-pointers from all over the court. Just about every player can handle the rock and shoot from the outside.

So what’s the big difference with this year’s Badgers?

“We’re a really close team,” Wieseman said. “We were sick of all the losing and bad chemistry last year. I feel for Lottig every day because he wasn’t the problem last year. The players were.”

“And by players, I am by no way saying I was an angel. It was a team issue. We never came together. This team has never been separated. That’s the difference. We have a genuine love for each other.”

If you think the Badgers were celebrating their pivotal victory Thursday night, think again. Many players hit up the weight room right after the game to get their workout done. It’s either early in the morning or after the game.

Larson gives players the option.

“I love my team,” Wieseman added. “Our aspirations are higher than beating Burlington. We haven’t done anything yet.”

With Wieseman and Berhorst both averaging more than 16 points per game, role players like Freeman, Sontag and Austin Jackson round out the starting five.

Badger plays extremely hard for Larson, and it could lead to a deep run in the Division 1 playoffs.

Burlington still in good position

The Demons dropped to 12-5 and 7-3 in the SLC.

Though they have yet to beat the big three of Badger, Wilmot or Waterford this season, Burlington still has the Wolverines and Panthers coming to town later this month.

With Hozeska turning into a superstar, Burlington has plenty of weapons with Sibley, Mitch Klug, Nick Klug, Ty Wiemer, Brad Burling, Bud Johnson and Erik Viel among others. The Demons utilize about 10 guys, and their depth and athleticism is usually too much for teams to handle.

Burlington’s full-court pressure and fast-paced, up-and-down style put tons of pressure on the opposition, but Badger countered with a similar style and handled the press for the most part.

Burlington and Badger will most likely end up 1-2 in the SLC, and both have a tough road ahead in the D1 postseason.

The Demons must work out a few kinks from the free-throw line and find more consistent scoring behind Hozeska, but they will be right there in the end.

“If we can play more consistent, there’s no telling how good we’ll be,” Hozeska said. “I still think that conference is attainable, we just have to play hard each night and hope for the best. I think that we are looking to make some noise in the playoffs.”