Zach Zernicke scored a season-high 21 points, Hunter VanderLinden added 11 and the Bonduel High School boys basketball team ended a two-game losing streak Friday with a 62-50 win over nonconference foe Friday in Bonduel.
The Bears (5-6, 1-3 Central Wisconsin Conference-8) started the game aggressively and held Suring to just eight points in the first quarter—an accomplishment for a defense that gave up 63 and 71 points in its last two losses.
“It just feels good to win a game,” Bonduel coach Duke Copp said. “We’ve been struggling a little bit lately. We wanted to be more intense and play harder on defense. I thought we did a really good job in the first half.”
Bonduel held Suring forward Tyler Fisher to 10 points through the first three quarters, before giving up eight to the 6-foot-4 senior in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve been giving up far too many points,” Copp said. “We watch the tape and we see breakdowns. We see simple little breakdowns that we shouldn’t be seeing. Things we can do better and learn from. We’re working on that.”
VanderLinden, a 5-11 junior, led Bonduel in the first half with nine points.
“He had a great start for us,” Copp said. “He had some nice shots. He plays hard all the time. I never worry about his effort.”
Zernicke, a 6-4 senior, came on in the second half, scoring 14 of his 21 points after the midpoint.
“He had a nice night in Crivitz the other night,” Copp said. “When he’s aggressive, he does well. He’s a good athlete, hustles down the court.”
The Bears also got burst from Hunter Berry coming off the bench to score a couple of baskets in the second quarter.
“Hunter Berry I thought came off the bench and played a really good game,” Copp said. “He gives us a spark. Little guy, 5-5, never gets a call, but he plays like crazy.”
Berry finished the day with five points.
Suring (3-5, 1-4 Marinette & Oconto) struggled to make a significant dent in Bonduel’s lead in the second half.
Copp said the team is going to focus on defense going forward.
“We’re giving up high 50s, almost 60 points a game,” Copp said. “That’s just not going to get it done. It’s just a matter, I think, of effort and doing things the way they need to be done.”
Suring (50)
Fischer 8 2-4 18, Runge 1 0-0 2, Kempen 3 0-3 7, VanBellinger 3 0-0 9, Christensen 1 1-2 4, Horst 5 0-0 10
Bonduel (62)
Pedersen 1 2-4 4, Rosin 2 3-4 8, Dobratz 3 0-0 6, VanderLinden 5 1-2 11, Zernicke 8 4-5 21, Shoup 1 1-2 3, Berry 2 1-2 5, Fischer 1 2-2 4
Suring 8 14 11 17 — 50
Bonduel 17 20 10 15 — 62
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