Panthers top Falls in thriller

Duda and Halverson had a team-high 11 points each for Falls. It was a career-high total for Halverson. “It’s just great to play another game,” Rhude said. “Everyone really wanted to win. “In the second half, we made some adjustments on offense and defense,” Rhude said. “It was a fantastic Falls-Plymouth game,” Richards said. “You can ratchet it up a few notches because it’s tournament time and neither team wanted to lose. “I don’t think we played that well down the stretch but made the shot [three-pointer by Unger]. Both teams played hard.” Hurlburt led the Falcons in assists with six. Roelse grabbed a team-best five boards. PLYMOUTH – Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls have had some great battles over the years but Thursday night’s Division 2 boys regional basketball semifinal game has to rank among the most exciting.

The game, played in front of a big crowd at the PHS gym, was nip-and-tuck most of the way and you had a feeling it would come down to the last shot. Junior guard Mitch Unger delivered for PHS with a threepointer from about 22 feet with only .9 seconds left to give the Panthers a dramatic 47-46 win.

“It’s unbelievable. It [winning shot] felt good when it left my hand,” said an ecstatic Unger after the game.

“It was the first three-point shot that I tried tonight. It was the most exciting game I’ve ever been in.

“I knew he [defender] was right on me and I wanted to be around the ball [for a pass] and get it off,” Unger said.

“We screened over the top and Mitch came across. The kid made the shot. I’m proud of Mitch,” said Panther head coach Scott Richards.

The Falcons took a 46-44 lead when junior forward Nick Roelse converted a three-point play on a follow-up basket with 13.5 seconds left.

PHS inbounded the ball to Unger who dribbled to midcourt and called a timeout with 10.8 seconds remaining. Richards set up a play and the Panthers executed it well. Jon Criter passed the ball in to Ian Murray who then passed to Unger coming off a screen. Unger was guarded well but was able to attempt the shot.

The Falcons then inbounded the ball from under the PHS basket and Criter batted it away near midcourt and time expired. The Panthers celebrated with the PHS students who rushed onto the court.

“It was a great atmosphere. It was great high school basketball,” Richards said.

“These are two teams who have a lot of respect for each other. We gutted it out. We’re just happy to advance.

“Coach [Eric] Spielman did a heck of a job. They [Falcons] were so focused. They hit shots. It wasn’t a bad defensive performance by us.”

Spielman, the Falcons’ head coach, was very pleased with his team’s effort.

“It was a tough one to lose. We played well and hard,” he said.

“We had opportunities to get over the hump and we missed opportunities. It was a fun game to be part of.

“We did a good job of keeping them away from the three-point line [at the end of the game]. It was a tough shot and he [Unger] hit it.

“We kept fighting. We hit a lot of big shots. We fought for every possession. It was a great team effort,” Spielman said.

The No. 1-seeded Panthers upped their record to 17-6. Fourth-seeded Falls ended its season at 12-12.

Falls, which lost to PHS twice during the regular season, rallied back from a 9-2 deficit in the first quarter and a 35-29 hole early in the fourth period. The Falcons used a 5-0 run, keyed by Dan Duda’s trey, to climb to within 35-34 with 5:35 left.

Senior guard Greg Rhude pushed Plymouth’s lead to 40-34 with a three-point play when he hit an offbalanced jumper, followed by a mid-range shot.

The Falcons answered with back-to-back three-point goals by Spencer Hurlburt and Lewis Halverson to tie the game, 40-40, at the 2:15 mark.

Brent Krueger’s layup on an assist by Criter put PHS up 44-43 with 40 seconds remaining.

“They made plays down the stretch and we did but we made one more play,” said Criter.

“Sheboygan Falls threw everything at us [on defense]. Both teams responded well. It was back and forth,” Richards said.

Falls used zone, man-to-man and triangle-and-two defenses. The triangle-and-two was used in the second half and focused on Unger and Rhude.

“We were expecting them to come out strong. They played unbelievable and played suffocating defense,” Unger said.

Rhude led PHS in scoring with 19 points and Criter tallied 14. Rhude sparked Plymouth’s attack in the second half with 12 points, including seven in the fourth quarter.

Criter had a team-high four assists. Senior forward Ian Murray led in rebounds with 11. Rhude paced the team in steals with two.

BOYS
BASKETBALL
SHEBOYGAN 46
FALLS
PLYMOUTH	47

Score by Quarters
Sheboygan Falls…….7 12 10 17 – 46
Plymouth..........……..12 9 11 15 – 47
Sheboygan Falls scoring: Dan Duda 11, Lewis Halverson 11, Zach Berg 9, Spencer Hurlburt 8, Nick Roelse 7.
Plymouth scoring: Greg Rhude 19, Mitch Unger 5, Brent Krueger 4, Jon Criter 14, Ian Murray 5.
Three-point goals: Duda 3, Berg 2, Hurlburt 2, Halverson 1, Rhude 2, Unger 1, Criter 2, Murray 1.
Field goals: Sheboygan Falls 16-30, 53%; Plymouth 16-33, 48%. Free throws: Sheboygan Falls 6-9, 67%; Plymouth
9-11, 82%.
Rebounds: Sheboygan Falls 12, Plymouth 21. Turnovers: Sheboygan ___________________________ Falls 11, Plymouth 13.