By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
BURLINGTON – To put it frankly, the Waterford and Burlington boys basketball teams aren’t the best of friends.
One Burlington player admitted he had a hard time shaking hands with the Wolverines after the game.
The schools are roughy six miles apart, and the districts overlap at certain points.
Friday night was the first meeting between the two clubs since last year’s infamous post-game handshake skirmish in which a Waterford coach exchanged words with a Burlington player after the game.
Settle down, everyone, at its core it’s a fun, heated rivalry between two proud teams. Student sections chanting “Why so quiet?” and “Why so ugly?” at each other just adds to the electrifying atmosphere.
For all these reasons and the fact that Burlington had won the previous six meetings, a span of three seasons, made Friday’s victory all the more sweet for Waterford coach Mickey Mala and his players.
The Burlington defense wilted late in the game, and the Wolverines closed with a 17-5 run to steal a 49-43 triumph.
Waterford improved to 7-6 overall and 6-2 in the Southern Lakes Conference and sits one loss behind Union Grove (6-1) for first place. Burlington dropped to 7-7 overall and 5-3 in the SLC, and the loss snapped its four-game win streak.
After the game, Mala hugged one of his players in jubilation, and the Waterford student section of about 60 strong joined the players on the court for a little gloating.
Waterford played without starting guard Alex Schwalbach, and that opened the door for senior reserve Josh Kurth, who was the first guy off the bench Friday. Mala said Kurth provided solid minutes off the bench even though he didn’t score a point.
The team stepped up for Kurth, who Mala said has fought with cancer off and on for the past few years.
Kurth was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, but he has been cancer-free so far this season, Mala said. Kurth still goes to the doctor for regular visits to make sure things don’t flare up.
When the clock hit zeroes, Mala couldn’t hold back.
“That ends a three-year drought for us,” he said. “They’ve had our number. We got the monkey off our back. We found out on Wednesday Alex would be missing awhile with an injury. We had to dig deep. Josh stepped up and played big minutes tonight for Alex. It was an emotional night.”
Trace Hunsucker led the Wolverines with 15 points, and Greyson Wolf-Dixon added 14, and both players really never left the floor. Only 10 players suited up for Waterford. An ex-factor in the paint was Nathan Nicholls, whose two free throws with less than 20 seconds to play sealed the victory.
The Demons weren’t at full strength, either. Only a few minutes into the first quarter, 6-foot-3 junior James Tully had to leave the game with a foot issue. He didn’t return, and guard Nate Klug was forced to step in and help guard Nicholls, who had a three-inch height advantage. Waterford’s guards consistently penetrated to the hoop in the fourth quarter to start the Waterford comeback, but Wolf-Dixon and Nicholls also controlled the lane.
Hunsucker swooped in for two layups, and Ross Gunderson’s 3-pointer with 2:22 left in the game gave the Wolverines a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Wolf-Dixon added a hook shot, and Trace Hunsucker and Nicholls scored the final four points of the game at the charity stripe.
Frank Hozeska, who along with Klug led the Demons with 12 points, didn’t give up. He did his best to force the issue and get in the lane past Waterford’s zone late in the game. With the Demons trailing, 47-42, Hozeska cut it to a four-point game with a free throw, but his second shot missed. However, Ben Geiger fought for the offensive rebound. The sharpshooter stepped back for a very strong look at a triple, but the ball rattled off the front rim, and Nicholls corralled the rebound.
Burlington led, 33-30, after three quarters and extended it to 38-32, but it hit a cold spell for the final six minutes.
“We didn’t defend well tonight,” Burlington coach Steve Berezowitz said. “We weren’t happy with our defensive effort. Waterford executed their ball-screen well. Execution is one thing, effort is another. Guys understood that we had to have a little bit better effort tonight. We’ll learn from it.”
Berezowitz said the Demons settled for a few tough jumpers late in the game, but he reiterated that with poor defense, his team isn’t going to beat anyone.
Waterford was able to thwart Burlington’s fast-break game in the second half, which often forced the Demons to shoot long jump shots over the tight Wolverine zone defense.
“I wanted us to make them shoot over the top, and we could clean the glass,” Mala said. “We tried to get the ball inside and play inside-out. When they got up six, it got a little hairy. In years past, that six turned into 14 in a hurry. I was proud of our guys to chip away and get some stops.”
Waterford travels to Milwaukee Lutheran Tuesday, and the Wolverines return home for a Coaches vs. Cancer game in honor of Kurth Jan. 31 against Union Grove.
Burlington returns home Thursday to face Racine Park (8-4). The next night, the Demons travel to Elkhorn for another tough conference game.
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