Tough defense and some solid shooting from sophomore Dustin Waupoose were not enough to lift the Menominee Indian High School boys basketball team over Almond-Bancroft in a 54-47 loss Friday in Keshena.
Almond-Bancroft (4-3, 4-1 Central Wisconsin Conference-10) built small leads throughout the game, only to see Menominee Indian (2-3, 2-3 CWC-10) come back off a key turnover or a big shot.
“I’m not a guy that’s high on moral victories, but I really feel like our team grew tonight,” Menominee Indian coach Brandon Frechette said. “They did a lot of good things. We’re a young team and they played well.”
Sophomore guard Dustin Waupoose had his share of those important shots after coming off the bench, hitting four baskets from beyond the 3-point arc on his way to a team-high 20 points.
Frechette was more impressed by what the sophomore guard did from inside the arc.
“Dustin is starting to understand that he can create offense without shooting the 3-pointer,” Frechette said. “If he keeps moving he can get open. He also did great on defense and rebounding.”
Waupoose also finished with five rebounds.
After Almond-Bancroft went on a 8-3 run to take a 34-28 lead in the third quarter, Menominee Indian responded in the fourth pulling to within two on a basket by junior Michael Pecore and a pair of Waupoose free throws.
With seven minutes to go, Pecore made a pair of free throws to tie the game, 34-34.
Both teams picked up the intensity from there, with Almond-Bancroft getting a 20-13 scoring advantage to close out the game and seal the victory.
Both teams struggled to score in the first half with Menominee Indian’s Alphonso Smith and Almond-Bancroft’s Ethan Yonke clogging up the middle.
Smith and Yonke finished with nine rebounds each. Yonke, held to just six points in the first half, piled up 17 in the second half.
Menominee Indian had 18 turnovers to Almond-Bancroft’s 15.
Austin Bunders added 12 points for Almond-Bancroft and had three assists.
Pecore finished the game with nine points and four assists. Sophomore Leon Nahwahquaw also had a pair of 3-pointers.
“Tonight, our boys grew a lot,” Frechette said. “We have a lot of confidence from tonight. Almond-Bancroft is a leading team in the conference for a reason.”
Almond-Bancroft (54)
Keenlange 2 0-0 6, Bunders 4 4-6 12, Pagel 0 6-6 6, Meddaugh 0 1-3 1, E. Yonke 9 5-6 23, Anderson 1 1-2 4, G. Yonke 1 0-0 2
Menominee Indian (47)
Pecore 2 5-7 9, Corn 2 0-0 5, Frechette 1 1-2 3, Smith 2 0-0 4, Waupoose 6 4-7 20, Nahwahquaw 2 0-0 6
Almond-Bancroft 10 7 17 20 — 54
Menominee Indian 8 5 15 19 — 47
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