By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
There were plenty of positive moments to draw from last week for the Big Foot boys basketball team.
Not only did the Chiefs have to withstand a charge by visiting Jefferson in Friday’s Rock Valley Conference contest – they put a win on the board as well.
Big Foot saw a halftime lead dwindle to just a point, but recovered in time to post a 60-49 victory. The win improved the Chiefs to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the RVC heading into a game Thursday at Whitewater.
“I was very happy with the way we played,” Big Foot coach Mike Dowden said. “We defended, competed and moved the ball on offense. It wasn’t perfect, but we are improving.”
Big Foot led 26-20 at halftime but Jefferson quickly got back into things.
The Eagles scored on their first possession of the second half and then drained a transition 3-pointer to pull within a point.
Big Foot battled back to rebuild its lead to double digits and hung on from there.
“I was impressed that our group continued to compete and got the lead back up before the first substitutions,” Dowden said. “They just kept competing and ran good offense to get a couple of open looks.”
Dowden added that he was just as pleased to see his team fight through the ups and downs on the defensive end as well.
“I think we just competed for the entire game and defended on both ends,” he said. “It is great when guys play together on both ends of the floor to get the best possessions every possession.”
Logan Eischeid led the way with 15 points, followed by Michael Petkoff with a career-high 15. Beau Cary added 10, Nelson Tovar eight and Max Hildebrandt five for the Chiefs.
Petkoff’s effort was another highlight, Dowden said.
“Michael found a way to get open looks, and he is really learning how to get to open areas, vacate areas and then return to the open spots,” he said. “In addition, he has been doing a great job of finding players to screen, and he is learning that helps him get open as well.”
Finding another scorer to go with Cary and Eischeid will be a key to further success down the road, Dowden said.
“It is always important find three or more guys to score,” he said. “I thought we did a great job of finding the open man and taking what the defense was giving us.
“If we keep doing that and we keep defending, I see us playing better as the season continues to move along.”
Tough games ahead
Next up for the Chiefs is the RVC contest with Whitewater and then a nonconference matchup Tuesday against visiting Delavan-Darien.
Both teams present challenges, Dowden said.
“(They) are bigger than we are, and they both know how to use their size effectively,” he said. “I think Whitewater’s ball-screen offense and ability to score inside could cause issues, and we will have to have to be ready to collapse and recover.
“On the other hand, Delavan always has guys who can score in bunches, and we will have to make sure they are not getting easy looks. This will be a big week for us, but I think our guys will be ready.”
