Numbers aren’t a problem this season for the Menominee Nation boys basketball team, as coach Joshua Gauthier has more than 40 players on the Eagles’ varsity, junior varsity and JV2 rosters.
Closing out a close game — especially against Central Wisconsin Conference-East opponents — is a different story, however.
One week after opening conference play with a one-point loss to Wittenberg-Birnamwood on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the Eagles dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the CWC-East Dec. 11 with a 63-53 loss to Amherst on the Falcons’ home court.
Menominee Nation trailed by 15 points at halftime and as many as 17 in the second half before cutting the deficit to three points down the stretch.
Amherst used four 3-pointers from Sully Perkins and a basket from Taylan McCormick at the buzzer to take a 36-21 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Slow starts are nothing new for the Eagles, according to Gauthier.
“We’ve been having issues getting started, and we’re a completely different team in the second half,” he said. “A lot of that comes from these guys getting comfortable. We have a size advantage, we have an athleticism advantage. The guys are a little timid at first, but once they settle in, it’s a completely different team. We have to mesh that together.”
The Eagles trailed by 17 points three times in the second half but cut into the lead even after Anikohseh Corn and Kenew Awonohopay fouled out with 6:31 and 3:15 to go in the game, respectively.
Awonohopay scored 13 of his game-high 27 points in the first half and played much of the second half with four fouls.
The Eagles used an 8-0 run to cut a 46-29 deficit to nine points before Korn picked up his fifth and final foul. Another 7-0 run cut the Falcons’ lead to 50-46 before Awonohopay fouled out.
The Eagles eventually cut Amherst’s lead to 52-49 on Derek Dickenson’s 3-pointer with 2:20 remaining with Korn and Awonohopay on the bench but never got any closer.
“We were able to get a few turnovers and execute off of those turnovers,” Gauthier said. “It shows that the guys can follow a game plan and execute to almost perfection. A couple more baskets at the end and it could be a completely different outcome.
“Right now, it comes down to executing in late-game situations. The errors are really costly. Turning down those errors will allow us to have better execution moving forward. It’s unfortunate that we lost, but these guys played very well. We can build off of this.”
Perkins led Amherst with 20 points as the Falcons improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play.
Having more than 40 players on three teams is good for Menominee Nation, Gauthier said.
“The numbers have been great, and it’s a good problem,” he said. “I know a lot of these kids from youth camps and workouts, and I’m also the head track coach. These kids are starting to understand there’s a mission and there’s work. They’re starting to see a bigger picture. I see the potential with these guys and it looks great.”
