When the Shawano Community High School boys basketball team needed some offense to get over the hump, it had a tough time producing points.
The Hawks trailed by as many as nine points against Wrightstown and, after tying the game in the third quarter, could never take the lead. The Hawks eventually fell 45-38 in the Shawano Sundrop Shootout on Friday at the Kress Events Center on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
“Our offense had some issues out of the gate,” Shawano coach Chris Kellett said. “Our starting five doesn’t have a knockdown shooter, which didn’t help circumstances. Take nothing away from Wrightstown, they got in our stuff and we just couldn’t handle it tonight.”
Shawano (6-2) was down 28-22 late in the third quarter before Kyle Raddant knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the game going into the final eight minutes.
“It seemed like we were always clawing back and we finally tied it up in the second half, but it’s a struggle when we have to call a set every single time down the floor just to get a shot,” Kellett said.
Wrightstown (5-3) got some early shots to fall early in the fourth quarter and went 11-for-13 at the free throw line down the stretch to pull out the win. The Tigers were 17-for-23 from the line for the game.
Shawano had a tough time against Wrightstown’s big front line of Nathan Larson (6-foot-7) and Doug Fabry (6-6). The duo combined for 33 points, with Fabry scoring a game-high 16 points, including 10 in the second quarter.
“We were able to get some touches early down low and get some of their big guys in foul trouble, which was pretty big,” Wrightstown coach Cory Haese said.
Playing against two big bodies like Larson and Fabry was a test for his team, Kellett said.
“I think it was a great test for us in the fact that West De Pere has bodies of the similar size,” Kellett said. “West De Pere’s players are a little bit more talented than Wrightstown, so we’ve got our work cut out for ourselves.”
The Hawks had a rough shooting night, hitting just 12 of 38 shots (31.6 percent), while the Tigers were 12 of 39.
Shawano trailed 10-1 and didn’t hit its first field goal of the night until Sajen Knueppel scored at the 1:42 mark of the first quarter. Wrightstown had a 16-9 lead in the second quarter and a 20-14 cushion at halftime.
“It was really a struggle scoring for both teams,” Haese said. “We really struggled offensively, getting looks or finishing because they just make it tough. Shawano does a good job of packing that lane and making it tough for you.”
Shawano came out of the break and went on a 6-0 run to tie the game at 20. After the Hawks tied it again at 28, Wrightstown went on a 12-4 spurt to all but end the game.
Knueppel led the Hawks in scoring with 11 points, and Raddant added eight. Two of Shawano’s top scorers — Zach Sousek, four points, and Will Cox, two points — were held in check.
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