Panthers fall to powerhouse Menomonee Falls
PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Panthers hung tough for three quarters against talent-laden Menomonee Falls but ran out of gas after that and the Indians won going away, 73-48.
The nonconference defeat dropped the Panthers’ boys basketball record to 1-2. The Indians, regarded as one of the top Division 1 teams in the state, improved to 2-1.
The Indians outscored PHS 17-3 in the fourth period after leading 56-45 through three quarters. John Cording sparked the Indians’ offense in the final period with six of his 11 points.
PHS trailed by only eight in the third period but the Indians hit three transition baskets to key a run that put them up 16.
PHS shot only 31 percent (15 of 49) from the field, including just 7 of 25 from three-point range. Menomonee Falls hit 47 percent (26 of 55) from the floor.
“They’re a very, very good team. They’re so athletic and very quick,” said Panther head coach Scott Richards.
“We’re just not used to playing against a team like that for four quarters. We had lapses and they took advantage of that.
“They hurt us with athletic moves inside and they hit the boards well,” Richards said. “We were not in good defensive position sometimes and we’ll work on that.”
The Indians won the rebounding battle, 35-21, and led 14-8 in offensive boards.
Senior point guard Jon Criter led PHS in scoring with 13. Senior forward Ian Murray had a team-high 12 rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Greg Rhude led in assists with four.
Sophomore sensation J.P. Tokoto led a balanced Menomonee Falls offense with 18 points – 12 in the first half which sparked his team to a 40-31 halftime lead. Tokoto, 6-feet-5, is a Wisconsin Men’s Basketball Yearbook preseason Division 1 all-stater.
The Panthers struggled at times against the Indians’ full-court press and pressure man-to-man defense. PHS committed 20 turnovers, many caused by the Indians’ quickness.
“Their full-court press definitely took us out of our rhythm,” Richards said.
“Criter got to the line well [making 6 of 7 foul shots]. Ian hit the boards well. Mitch Unger [junior guard] handled their pressure well.”
JV, FROSH GAMES
The Panthers withstood a fourth-quarter rally by the Indians to post a 59-51 junior varsity win.
PHS, 3-0, led 52-30 after three quarters and then was outscored 21-7 in the final period.
“We played fairly well for three quarters but we certainly didn’t finish the game the way we’d like,” said PHS coach Jason Duff.
“We had some mental lapses in the fourth quarter and we didn’t help each other defensively as we should.”
Parker Kastelic led PHS in scoring with 15 points and Matt Augustine tallied 13. Kastelic also had a team-high five assists and shared the lead in steals with Cory Unger at three each. Evan Guell led in rebounds with four.
In the freshman contest, the Panthers held a 19-7 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter to key a 45-36 win. PHS improved to 3-0.
Jordan Mueller ignited Plymouth’s offense with 20 points, including 14 in the final period. Ten Panthers scored in the game.
“Our defense played well,” said Panther coach Jim De Vries.
| BOYS
| | |
| BASKETBALL
| | |
| MENOMONEE 73 | |
| FALLS | | |
| PLYMOUTH | 48 | |
Score by Quarters
Men. Falls………….…17 23 16 17 – 73
Plymouth………….…..10 14 11 13 – 48
Menomonee Falls scoring: J.P. Tokoto 18, John Cording 11, C.J. Malone 5, Jalen Ramey 8, Connor Cassidy 15,
Adam Rubatt 12, Kevin Scroggins 2, Joe Henningsen 2.
Plymouth scoring: Greg Rhude 12, Mitch Unger 11, Brent Krueger 3, Jon Criter 13, Myles Dellger 1, Ian Murray 2,
Spencer Strong 6.
Three-point goals: Tokoto 2, Malone 1, Cassidy 1, Rubatt 2, Rhude 2, Unger 3, Krueger 1, Criter 1.
Field goals: Men. Falls 26-55, 47%; Plymouth 15-49, 31%. Free throws: Men. Falls 15-24, 63%; Plymouth 11-14,
79%.
Rebounds: Men. Falls 35, Plymouth 21. Turnovers: Men. ___________________________ Falls 12, Plymouth 20.
