Boys Basketball: Bowler unable to find rhythm in home loss

Panthers allow 17-0 run early in first half
By: 
Morgan Rode
Sports Editor

BOWLER — A young and inexperienced Bowler High School boys basketball team was overpowered by a taller and senior-laden Suring squad in a nonconference matchup on Friday.

Bowler answered a 4-0 Suring run to start the game with a 5-0 run, with sophomore Wylee Dodge knocking down the team’s first shot before burying a 3-pointer. After a Suring timeout at the 15:41 mark, the visitors went on a 17-0 run to take control and never let go of the momentum on its way to a 77-43 win.

“We’re young. We’ve got one senior with playing experience from last year (Zach Fehrman) and we’re suffering some growing pains,” said Bowler coach Ted Kietlinski. “Part of those growing pains is you hope they learn week to week, game to game, but when you’re young, that sometimes is a slower process.”

“We’ve got to be patient with the young kids, keep teaching. I find myself teaching more and coaching less because we do have a lot of young kids, and in my opinion, that’s the only way we can build for the future — whether that’s toward the end of this year or going into next year and beyond.”

After Dodge’s 3-pointer, Bowler’s next basket didn’t come until the 9:05 mark of the half, when junior Adin Brei hit a shot. Junior Lane Schultz hit two free throws before freshman Emmitt Kietlinski converted a shot within the next three minutes, but then the Panthers were held to three points in the final six minutes of the half.

Suring’s height advantage allowed them to work the ball around the Bowler zone defense for open looks. Seven of Suring’s 10 3-pointers came in the opening half of play.

On the other end of the court, Suring’s height made getting open looks hard to come by for Bowler’s offense. Most of the offense was run behind the 3-point line, with shots near the paint being heavily influenced by defenders.

“Defensively, they shut down the lane so me and the other players couldn’t really get in there and they fought for every rebound,” said Fehrman about Suring. “Offensively, they crashed the boards hard and good passing also really helped them.”

“On offense, it wasn’t really that they were a great defensive team, but we didn’t space the floor well to get open shots and we didn’t move fast enough to keep up with them on the other end,” said Dodge.

Bowler was able to find more offensive success in the second half, with Dodge, Schultz and Fehrman hitting multiple field goals.

Dodge hit three 3-pointers during his 11-point second half to finish with a team-leading 16 points. Fehrman hit a pair of triples and scored eight of his 10 points in the second half. Schultz finished with seven points.

Rebounding was a big takeaway for the Panthers in the loss, with Dodge and Fehrman saying the team needed to work on boxing out to limit second-chance opportunities. Dodge also said the team’s defense needed to improve when closing out on shooters.

Bowler will have some time to work on the issues before taking the court again. On Friday, Bowler will travel to take on Manawa, which currently leads the Central Wisconsin Conference-North Division.

Suring 41 36 — 77

Bowler 15 28 — 43

Suring (77): Jeremy Hensel 2-3 2, Bryce Losurdo 0-0 25, Jayden Geniesse 0-0 5, Ethan Hischke 2-2 12, Gavin Fredenburgh 0-0 2, Duncan Breed 0-0 3, Taron Haak 2-3 11, Dequez Sepulveda 0-0 10, Mason Ferrell 0-0 2, Leo Taylor 1-4 5.

Bowler (43): Adin Brei 1-2 5, Zach Fehrman 2-4 10, Lane Schultz 3-4 7, Ashwuut Mohawk 1-2 3, Emmitt Kietlinski 0-0 2, Wylee Dodge 0-2 16.

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