By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
It’s safe to say the East Troy High School boys basketball team didn’t dwell long on a season-opening loss to Stevens Point.
Instead, the Trojans went right back to work.
East Troy, which fell to the defending Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 state champions, bounced back with two victories last week, a 76-75 overtime decision Dec. 1 at Racine Case, followed by an 87-71 Rock Valley Conference win Dec. 3 over visiting McFarland.
The Trojans improved to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the RVC.
“(Those were) two really nice wins early in the season,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said. “Coming back and playing (well) against quality teams (was important).”
East Troy took early control against McFarland, as the Trojans led 42-29 at halftime and never looked back.
The win over the Spartans was an important one on a couple different fronts, Rayfield said.
“McFarland obviously has conference implications, so from that standpoint, it was a nice win,” he said. “Absolutely nothing comes easy from playing three games in six days, but we were challenged and played well.”
The key, as usual when East Troy is playing well, was for the Trojans to be the aggressor, Rayfield said.
“We took it to them early, pushing the ball (offensively) and pressing,” he said. “I like the consistency in which we are playing offensively.”
Five Trojans finished in double digits, led by Joe Ciriacks with 25 and Jake Nixon with 24. Jake Remsza added 12 points, followed by Justin Growel and Johnathan Brehm, each with 10.
While he’s pleased with the offense, Rayfield knows his team needs to keep improving defensively.
“It is hard not to enjoy this group,” he said. “But I have been cautiously telling them, ‘At some point, you have to get stops and rebound.’
“(We will do) a lot of work for sure on that end the next few weeks, but right now, (are) just rolling the dice with it. We have to had to have stops the last couple games and the kids have made plays, so sometimes you just have to smile and enjoy their youth and fun.
“We will keep working at it, though, make no mistake about it.”
East Troy overcame a four-point halftime deficit to pull out the one-point win Dec. 1 at Case.
Growel led the way with 21 points, followed by Nixon with 19, Ciriacks with 17 and Brehm with 12.
“Growel had his best game as a Trojan with a great balancing act on the boards defensively and knocking down big free throws,” Rayfield said.
Rayfield was pleased to see his team overcome a few obstacles that Case through at them.
“Racine Case is always so athletic, so it creates different types of challenges off the dribble,” Rayfield said. “They put constant pressure on you. It was back and forth, a very fast-paced game.”
East Troy traveled to Jefferson Tuesday night and will compete in the two-day Ron Glaser Invite at Milwaukee Washington this weekend. The Trojans play Washington Friday and Milwaukee Destiny Saturday.
Girls drop two
The East Troy girls opened RVC play last week and dropped a pair of decisions, 55-48 Dec. 1 to visiting Jefferson, followed by an 86-59 loss Dec. 4 at Brodhead.
Brodhead took control early with a 47-28 halftime lead and never looked back.
Katrina Santos led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds, followed by Erin Rice with 13 points and four assists, Maddie Rosin with eight points and Kayla Casper with six points and four rebounds.
The Trojans battled back in the second half against Jefferson, but couldn’t overcome a 30-20 halftime deficit.
Leading the way was Santos with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five steals, followed by Rosin with seven points, Hope Schneider with five, Ashley Weber with five points and four rebounds and Casper with seven rebounds.
Mackenzie Lindow chipped in with four rebounds, four assists and three steals.
East Troy is back in action Thursday against visiting Clinton, followed by a road game next Tuesday, Dec. 15, at Edgerton.
