Panthers dominate second half in big EWC win

PLYMOUTH – The Plymouth Panthers turned on the afterburners in the second half to fuel a stunning 70-47 rout over visiting Kiel in a matchup of Eastern Wisconsin Conference boys basketball powers Thursday night.

PHS, sparked by a hounding, man-to-man defense and sharp offensive work, outscored the Raiders 45- 23 in the final half. The Panthers exploded for 29 points in the fourth quarter on sizzling 67-percent shooting (8-for-12) from the field.

The Panthers avenged a 61-46 loss to Kiel in their EWC opener Dec. 3 and moved into the share of second place in the league with the Raiders at 6-2. PHS improved to 10-4 overall while Kiel, which has lost three of its last four games, slipped to 9-4.

“That’s a good win for us. I was very pleased. We played well,” said Panther head coach Scott Richards.

“In the second half, we played smart basketball, and moved the ball and found the open man.

“We played very aggressive defense in the third quarter. It was probably our best defensive quarter of the season,” Richards said.

PHS held the potent Raiders’ attack to only seven points and 2-for-11 shooting from the field in the third quarter.

Senior guard Greg Rhude ignited the Panthers’ fourth-period outburst with nine points and senior point guard Jon Criter hit six.

Kiel led 11-4 midway through the first period but PHS stormed back with a 14-0 spurt to go ahead 18-11 midway through the second. Pat Leick’s three-pointer in the closing seconds of the opening quarter gave PHS a 12-11 lead.

Mitch Unger buried a trey with 50 seconds left in the second quarter that gave the Panthers a 25-24 halftime advantage.

The Panthers outscored Kiel 16-7 in the third quarter to go ahead 41-31. Unger sparked the PHS offense in the period with six points, including a three-ball.

Foul trouble hurt the Raiders in the second half. Their standout scorer, senior point guard Brandon Gries, was among those with foul problems.

Gries, who sparked Kiel to a 61-46 win over PHS in the first meeting with 27 points, was held to 14 Thursday which led his team.

“Brandon got into foul trouble and that changed the way he played and his flow,” said Raider head coach Jamie Arenz.

“It was a tale of two halves. They tightened up defensively in the second half and we were playing too loose. Their defense was the difference.

“Their defense was the best I’ve seen all season,” Arenz said. “They put a ton of pressure on us in the second half.”

The Raider coach thought PHS did a good job of guarding Gries and keeping him away from the basket.

“Jon’s [defensive] effort on Gries was excellent but the whole team had to help out,” Richards observed.

Unger led a balanced PHS offense with 16 points and Rhude tallied 15. Leick, a senior guard, gave the Panthers a nice lift off the bench with eight points on 3-for-3 shooting from the floor and a team-high three steals. Rhude also had three steals.

“Pat came up huge for us. He handled the ball well and put the ball in the basket,” Richards said. “They’re a good team. We really practiced hard and were much more focused. “Our defense was stellar but we made much better decisions on offense.”

Kiel was only 14-for-51 from the field for 27 percent, compared with Plymouth’s 47 percent (24 of 51).

Richards thought senior forward Ian Murray’s rebounding was outstanding. Murray paced PHS in rebounds with 12 to go with nine points and two assists. Criter had a team-high five assists and scored 12.

Peter Kraus led Kiel in boards with eight. Gries had a team-high three assists and D.J. Driscoll led in steals at three.

“Peter played a great game at the five spot [power forward]. He contributed eight rebounds and 10 points,” Arenz said.

JV, FROSH GAMES

Very productive play off the bench keyed the Panthers’ 50-43 win in the junior varsity contest. PHS upped its EWC mark to 6-2 (10-4 overall).

PHS received 20 points from its reserves, led by Cory Unger’s team-high 12. Parker Kastelic and Evan Guell tallied 10 points each.

Unger also paced PHS in assists with five. Kastelic led in steals with five and Matt Augustine had a team-high five rebounds.

Tyler Konz paced the Raiders’ attack with nine points. The PHS freshmen stayed unbeaten with a 42-29 win. Plymouth, 8-0 in the EWC and 12-0 overall, surrendered only 15 points through the first three quarters.

Nine Panthers scored, led by Eric Roberts and Kevin Friederichs with eight apiece. Kiel’s top scorers were Jordan Meyer and Seth Woods with seven each.

Score by Quarters Kiel.……………………..11 13 7 16 – 47 Plymouth..........….….12 13 16 29 – 70

Kiel scoring: Brandon Gries 14, Peter Kraus 10, Derek Meyer 9, D.J. Driscoll 6, Sam Moehring 3, Joey Burris 3, Isaiah Herzog 2.

Plymouth scoring: Pat Leick 8, Greg Rhude 15, Adam Entringer 3, Mitch Unger 16, Brent Krueger 5, Jon Criter 12, Myles Dellger 2, Ian Murray 9.

Three-point goals: Gries 1, Meyer 1, Moehring 1, Leick 1, Entringer 1, Unger 2, Murray 1. Field goals: Kiel 14-51, 27%; Plymouth 24-51, 47%; Free throws: Kiel 16-21, 76%; Plymouth 17-23, 74%. Rebounds: Kiel 23, Plymouth 26. Turnovers: ___________________________ Kiel 13, Plymouth 12.