By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
BURLINGTON – Sometimes, things just aren’t going your way.
The Catholic Central boys basketball team, ranked fourth in Division 5 coming into Friday’s home tilt against Racine Prairie, endured that agonizing reality for the first 30 minutes.
Shots weren’t falling. Loose balls weren’t corralled. Players were frustrated.
But a sign of any good high school hoops team is senior leadership, and the Toppers found theirs late in the fourth quarter.
Bailey Wright nailed an elbow 3-pointer to give Central its first lead of the second half, and Spencer Wilker followed with a steal and layup to give the Toppers some breathing room at 36-32 with less than two minutes to go.
Then, a seemingly harmless and-one turned into a Lutheran ejection and a seven-point swing, and the Toppers held on for a 46-34 victory.
Catholic Central improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in the Metro Classic Conference, one game behind co-leaders Racine St. Cat’s and Whitefish Bay Dominican.
“We were a little shaky but we overcame some adversity,” said senior Gavin Foote, who had seven points and four rebounds. “We got in No. 5’s head, obviously, and he made a couple dumb fouls, and it put us right back in it.”
Foote is referring to a key play with 1:20 left. An outlet pass to Catholic Central sophomore Ben Heiligenthal yielded a tough layup and foul. But Lutheran’s Sam Kurhajec (No. 5) forcefully came down with both arms on the guard’s head and back and was called for a technical foul. Kurhajec then swore at the referee, which resulted in an ejection.
Kurhajec continued shouting profanities as he walked off the court and down into the Lutheran locker room. The Central fans were irate and voiced their displeasure.
Wright calmly sank three of four technical foul shots, and suddenly a 36-32 game turned into a comfortable 42-32 margin.
“It was a big point of the game,” said Central coach Eric Henderson. “That play iced it for us. But we took the momentum back with Bailey’s three and Spencer’s steal.”
Henderson said the conference is so strong his team must compete every night. Prairie (3-6) is much better than its record indicates.
“We made some mistakes, and they put some pressure on us, but I was really impressed with our composure,” Henderson said. “We were confident the whole time. We have a lot of experience.”
The Toppers trailed, 19-17, at the half, and 30-25 after three quarters.
Heiligenthal led the way with 14 points and consistently got to the basket. Another key contributor throughout the game was 6-foot-7 center Tegan Miles, who was all over the paint in the fourth quarter.
Miles dished an assist to Heiligenthal for a triple, notched a big block on defense, and his offensive rebound and kick out resulted in Wright’s trey that put the Toppers in the lead for good. Miles finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
“Tegan does a lot of things for us,” Henderson said. “Him and Spencer do a lot of things that don’t show up in the stat book. Tegan’s a difference-maker. He allows us to be very versatile in our game plan.”
Foote said his team’s resilience late in the game was due to confidence and solid conditioning. These guys have bought in to Henderson’s system, and it’s paying off.
“Day in and day out, Hendo (Henderson) puts in a lot of energy at practice and stresses defense and stops,” he said. “Spencer got a big steal and finish, and Ben finished with the and-one.”
Catholic Central returns home Tuesday to face nonconference foe Kenosha Reuther (2-6) before a tough test at Kenosha St. Joe’s (9-2, 4-1, MCC) Thursday.
“Teams are going to pressure us,” Henderson said. “We have to take advantage of that and keep our composure. If we do that, we can play against anybody.”
Other Friday area scores
Boys
Williams Bay 89, Johnson Creek 55
Kenosha Tremper 76, Franklin 58
Racine Case 86, Kenosha Indian Trail 65
Racine Park 56, Oak Creek 42
Racine Horlick 48, Kenosha Bradford 41
Mukwonago 78, Muskego 60
St. Anthony 42, Faith Christian 40
Thursday
Burlington 82, Delavan-Darien 55
East Troy 78, Whitewater 72
Girls
Lake Geneva Badger 53, Burlington 30
Union Grove 45, Elkhorn 39
Wilmot 66, Westosha Central 43
Brodhead 59, East Troy 15
Mukwonago 45, Muskego 41
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