East Troy outscores Spartans by 10 points
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
For most of last week’s Rock Valley Conference opener with visiting McFarland, it looked like the East Troy boys had things well under control.
But the Trojans never could quite put the Spartans away – at least during regulation.
The overtime session was an entirely different story.
East Troy outscored McFarland by 10 in the extra session to earn an 87-77 victory and improve to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the RVC heading into a road contest Tuesday night at Big Foot.
Results from that matchup were unavailable by press time.
“It was a really good game,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said. “We were up five to eight (points) most of the game. We couldn’t put them away. We missed a few front ends of the bonus, they hit a couple of threes, and the next thing you know, you have a dogfight on your hands.”
Rayfield said the overtime hinged on a strong four-minute stretch by Jered Brehm, who scored five of his six points in the extra session.
“I think he played as well as I’ve seen him play since he’s been a varsity player in that four-minute stretch there,” Rayfield said. “He has it in him to play like that. He had a great summer and a great fall. If he’s relentless, we’re good. If he’s not, we’re not going to be as good.”
Sophomore A.J. Vukovich poured in a game-high 40 points to lead the way, as he hurt the Spartans in a number of different ways – including the always exciting slam dunk.
Vukovich had six dunks, the most Rayfield can remember from a single player in a game.
“He was really good,” Rayfield said. “What I liked about it is he only took one three. He posted up, he got points on slashes to the basket, jump hooks, he ran the break. He got them from multiple spots on the floor. He cut hard and the guys got (the basketball) to him.”
Other leads for East Troy were sophomore Quentin Lottig with 13 points, junior Michael Polakoski with 11 and sophomore Michael Rosin and senior Nick Bourdo with six apiece.
Lottig transferred to East Troy from Badger this year and is fitting right in with the Trojans, Rayfield said.
“‘Q’ is fitting in nice,” he said. “He’s starting to learn the system. He made a couple big threes. He’s just been a nice addition. He shoots it pretty well from the perimeter. He hit a couple big shots to help us win the game for sure.”
Following Tuesday’s game with Big Foot, the Trojans host Edgerton on Thursday, followed by a nonconference road game Saturday at Madison East.
The Edgerton game starts at 7:15 p.m., while tipoff in Madison is 4:30.
Edgerton beat Beloit Turner by 10 points last week, a win that certainly turned a few heads, Rayfield said.
“Edgerton is probably the most improved team in the league for sure,” he said. “They play with a lot of energy. … The goal (this week) is to continue to get better and try to play better together.”
