By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
The East Troy High School boys basketball team’s final regular season contest last week gave coach Darryl Rayfield a chance to see where his squad was at prior to the start of the post-season.
And for the most part, he was pleased with what he saw.
A revamped starting lineup held its own and helped the Trojans to a 69-60 Rock Valley Conference win Feb. 20 over visiting Whitewater. The victory improved East Troy to 15-7 overall and 12-4 in conference play, good for second behind champion Edgerton’s 15-1.
East Troy jumped to a 15-5 lead early in the contest and took control from there. The Trojans led 35-28 at halftime and outscored the Whippets 34-32 the final two quarters.
“I had a chance to play a lot of guys (in the game),” Rayfield said. “We had a great practice the day before after only one day of preparation.
“The group that started (three juniors and two sophomores) really impressed me on how hard they played and the completeness (they had) in sharing the ball. It was nice to play well that last game going into the tournament.”
Joe Ciriacks led the way with 19 points, followed by Connor Mitchell with 13 and Jonathan Brehm with 12.
East Troy opened the week with a hard-fought 61-60 non-conference loss Feb. 18 at Division 1 Oconomowoc.
“It was a very physical game,” Rayfield said. “They were bigger at every spot and they had great toughness.”
Oconomowoc built an eight-point lead during the first half and took a 32-26 advantage into halftime. After the hosts built the lead to 13 heading into the fourth quarter before the Trojans put together a furious rally.
East Troy outscored Oconomowoc 21-9 in the fourth quarter but couldn’t quite complete the comeback.
“Our last couple shots just did not fall,” Rayfield said. “We battled to the end. … After the half, we came out and matched their intensity and made a game of it. A sense of urgency came about us.”
Rayfield was pleased to see his team overcome the size disparity to give Oconomowoc a run.
“You can win when you’re undersized, but you must become mentally tough minded,” he said. “It is then awesome watching us compete and play.
“We did that and were able to press, run and score and had a chance to win (the game late) with the ball on three different opportunities at the end.”
Jacob Growel led the way with 20 points, followed by Ciriacks and Justin Growel with 14 apiece.
East Troy now waits to see who it will play in the second round of the Division 3 regional tournament. The Trojans, who earned the top seed, will host either fourth-seeded St. Thomas More or fifth-seeded Kenosha Reuther in a semifinal contest Friday night.
The regional final is set for Saturday at a site yet to be determined. The other half of the bracket features No. 2 Saint Francis, which hosts either No. 3 Milwaukee North or No. 6 Milwaukee Tenor in a second-round matchup.
