Players embracing roles, enjoying best basketball of season
By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
The Catholic Central boys basketball team is a prime example that it doesn’t matter how you start, but more how you finish.
The Toppers took their fair share of lumps and bruises under first-year Kyle Scott in November and December, opening the season 2-12.
To add injury to insult, senior leader Gavin Foote went down with an injury and has missed the last month of action.
Foote has practiced all week, and his status is day-to-day. Scott said there is a possibility Foote could return for the playoffs.
“The hope is to be back and play some small minutes in our first playoff game and then get into the big minutes,” Foote said last week.
The Toppers are playing their best basketball at the right time, with a WIAA Division 5 playoff opener awaiting Tuesday, March 3.
“The biggest thing is guys are settling into their new roles,” Scott said. “They are embracing their roles. They’ve learned guys who score may get in the paper, but guys who rebound, play defense and set picks also help the team win.”
Catholic Central (7-14) has gone 5-2 in the month of February, with a one-point loss to a 13-9 Racine Lutheran team and a blowout defeat Feb. 21 at home against defending state champion Whitefish Bay Dominican, a team favored to win another state title.
While Ben Heiligenthal and Spencer Wilker are the leading scorers, Scott said Aaron Reuber has been running the offense and Karan Singh is providing lights-out defense. With a new voice as coach, it took time to adjust, but now the Toppers are thriving.
The third-seeded Toppers will host No. 6 University Lake/Trinity Academy (3-17) Tuesday, and the winner would play No. 2 Milwaukee Academy of Science (13-8).
Catholic Central, which plays in one of the state’s toughest conferences for small schools, wouldn’t face a ranked Division 5 opponent, Randolph, until the sectional final. That is if the Toppers can pull off upsets against Science, Young Coggs Prep (17-5) or Sheboygan Lutheran (15-6).
“Our kids have realistic expectations,” Scott said. “We are the only D5 team in our conference, and the kids have grasped the concept that we play for the playoffs. Our conference schedule gets us ready for stuff like this. We have an opportunity to play well and advance, but we’ll take it one game at a time.”
Catholic Central 40, Thomas More 37
Wilker finished his regular season Toppers career in style at home Feb. 26.
The guard/forward scored 22 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished four assists in a game that came down to the wire.
Wilker connected on four triples and also sank four of four from the charity stripe.
Thomas More closed the game with a 19-10 fourth quarter, but the Toppers staved off the comeback attempt to finish the season 5-7 at home.
Catholic Central ended the season on a tear, winning six of eight games after a 2-12 start.
Heiligenthal added 12 points for the Toppers.
Whitefish Bay Dominican 60, Catholic Central 26
The Toppers were in the wrong place at the wrong time in Saturday’s home tilt with Whitefish Bay Dominican.
Dominican five-star recruit Diamond Stone, one of the top-10 players in the country, finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds.
The 6-foot-11 Stone is considering Wisconsin, Maryland, Connecticut and Oklahoma State for next year.
On Saturday, though their tallest player is six inches shorter than Stone, the Toppers held him to 8-for-19 shooting and only allowed 25 first-half points.
However, a 17-1 first quarter and 23-10 third were too much to overcome.
“We did a nice job on him,” Scott said. “We played a 2-3 zone and forced them to beat us from the outside. We competed for 32 minutes. We didn’t win, but we got better.”
“Dominican is a long, athletic team and is one of the best five teams in the state in any division. They probably have three D1 college players.”
Heiligenthal led the Toppers with 11 points. Wilker paced the team with seven rebounds.
Reuber added six points.
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