Boys strong showing advances them in playoffs
By Dan Truttschel
Sports Correspondent
Somebody forgot to tell the East Troy High School boys basketball team this was supposed to be a rebuilding year.
A season after the Trojans advanced to state and graduated a slew of talented seniors, they’re within two wins of making a return-trip to Madison.
East Troy punched its sectional ticket last weekend with two decisive home wins in a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 regional. The Trojans opened the post-season with a 67-50 win over St. Thomas More Friday, followed by a 52-32 thrashing of Saint Francis the next night.
The two wins improved East Troy to 17-7 overall and send them to this week’s sectional, where they will face Brown Deer (19-5) Thursday night, at 7 p.m., at Waukesha West. The winner advances to play either Oostburg (18-6) or Ripon (20-5) Saturday at Whitefish Bay, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
“We are once again only one of 16 teams left in our division playing,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said. “All is good. We have good players and have been through this plenty of times.
“Our kids work toward this (opportunity) year-round. It will be a great opportunity and fun to experience this for all of our community.”
The regional final against Saint Francis was tight early, as the Trojans led by just three after the first quarter and trailed by four at halftime.
But the second half was all Trojans.
East Troy bolted from the intermission and outscored the visitors 16-6 in the third quarter to take control. A 15-4 advantage in the fourth iced the win and sent the Trojans to the next round.
“Having a chance to play for any championship in any sport is a great experience,” Rayfield said. “To have it happen on your home court in front of family and friends is that much more special.
“It was a great game from the start and another great defensive effort from our team. We came out (in the first half) and played well, but just missed some good looks, went four for eight from the foul line and put a lot of pressure on our defense.”
That defense came through in the second half, Rayfield said – and it certainly didn’t hurt that his team started to make some shots as well.
“(At halftime) we talked about continuing to play good defense together,” he said. “We started knocking down free throws and kept being aggressive offensively. It was the best defensive effort as a team all year.
“Saint Francis is very athletic. I was very proud of our guys.”
Jacob Growel led the way with 20 points, followed by Joe Ciriacks with 11 and Will Iloncaie with 10.
Rayfield lauded the play of all three and Connor Mitchell for coming through in the clutch.
“Jake Growel was outstanding on both ends,” Rayfield said. “He was not going to let this be his last game.
“Will and Connor were also showing that they have been here before, and Joe Ciriacks made back to back threes in the third quarter to get the crowd into it. We turned up the defense and never looked back.”
In Brown Deer, the Trojans will face a team that has won 16 of its last 17 and 14 straight. East Troy beat the Falcons 67-57 in last year’s sectional semifinal.
Rayfield knows the challenge that lies ahead for his squad.
“Brown Deer is absolutely loaded with tall, long and athletic players,” he said. “They have a bunch of guys back from last year’s sectional team we beat, but have also added some new faces.
“They have a tough schedule and come out of a very competitive league. I have seen them plenty and am well aware of all that they do. We will get our money’s worth Thursday night.”
Big quarter sparks Trojans
East Troy turned a slim two-point lead into a commanding 13-point advantage by halftime en route to the 67-50 win over Thomas More in the regional opener.
Iloncaie led the way with 15 points, followed by Jacob Growel with 14, Ciriacks with 13 and Mitchell with nine.
“Jake and Connor (Mitchell) played great defense to disrupt their flow, and it gave us opportunities to get in transition and score,” Rayfield said. “We had good offensive balance. It is nice to see our guys sharing and trusting each other on both ends.”
Rayfield added his was pleased to see his team handle its business, not only in the opener, but in the regional final.
“Having a chance to get the one see and having home court advantage is a nice thing, but it also brings a different type of pressure,” he said.
“Teams come in and play with nothing to lose and everything to gain, especially when you’re playing East Troy. Having to play two completely different teams is also unique in that they both are coming from very competitive leagues and have very good coaches.”
