Morgan Rode sports@newmedia-wi.com
Leader Photo by Morgan Rode Wittenberg-Birnamwood’s Austin Gibson drives to the rim as Clintonville’s Presley Rosenow, left, Sean Finger (10) and Sam Wittman, right, defend during Thursday’s nonconference game at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School.
The duo of junior Aiden Polzin and senior Sam Wittman helped the Clintonville boys basketball team claim its third-straight win, taking down Wittenberg-Birnamwood 69-54 in nonconference action from Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School on Thursday.
Polzin had the hot hand in the first half and helped the Truckers out to a quick, double-digit lead. He connected on six first half 3-pointers while tallying 20 points.
“I practice those shots everyday,” Polzin said. “It’s just being in the right spot at the right time and being patient in the offense. We all worked together moving the ball well and I was just feeling it tonight, so I pulled the trigger and made them.”
Witt-Birn (6-2) was overwhelmed in the opening minutes by the full-court pressure Clintonville (5-4) played.
Several early turnovers helped the Truckers take a 10-2 lead and force a timeout from the hosts. Polzin then hit his third, fourth and fifth 3s of the half to widen Clintonville’s lead to 14, 25-11.
“We haven’t seen pressure like that this year and I can’t simulate that in practice,” Witt-Birn coach Garrett Rogowski said. “I was concerned but I felt like we would be able to execute a few different options against it. At times we did, but it rattled us… .
“Early on we didn’t shut down Polzin’s 3-point shot and that’s something we talked about doing, but credit goes to them for executing and hitting that shot consistently with a hand in his face.”
Clintonville worked its lead all the way up to 19 points, 35-16, before Witt-Birn ended the half on an 11-2 run. Junior Brendan Resch hit a 3-pointer before senior Michael Gibson hit another 3-ball and then converted a three-point play.
The start of the second half saw each team trade baskets, with Clintonville’s lead hovering between 9-13 points.
A Resch 3-pointer and Michael Gibson bucket cut the host’s deficit down to seven, but Clintonville sealed the win by ending the game on a 15-7 run.
Wittman scored eight points during the final stretch and finished the game with 16 points. After a 20-point first half, Polzin tacked on 11 more points in the final half to finish with a game-high 31 points.
Clintonville will now take its three-game winning streak back into North Eastern Conference play. The Truckers host Wrightstown next Friday.
“You can see it when you’re riding a winning streak, shots start to fall for you,” said Clintonville coach Ryan Mattson. “Early on, when you’re not winning, it seems like nothing goes right. When you go on a win streak, it just builds up the confidence of every player… .”
Michael Gibson and sophomore Austin Gibson each recorded 14 points on the night for Witt-Birn. Senior Ethan Wesolowski and junior Simon Stewart each chipped in eight points.
Despite the loss, the Chargers hope to use the tough test as a confidence booster moving forward.
“We handled the press pretty good, that press was pretty good practice for us,” said Austin Gibson, who scored 12 of his points in the second half. “These guys are probably better than what our conference has, so this game should really help us.”
Witt-Birn also returns to action next Friday, traveling for a nonconference clash against Northland Pines.
Clintonville (69)
Gerald Wood 0-0 2, Presley Rosenow 0-1 9, Sean Finger 1-2 3, Matthew Morse 0-0 2, Alberto Dominguez 0-0 2, Sam Wittman 0-0 16, Aiden Polzin 0-0 31, Nathan Morse 2-2 4.
Wittenberg-Birnamwood (54)
Ethan Wesolowski 1-3 8, Brendan Resch 0-0 6, Shane Herb 0-0 2, Michael Gibson 3-5 14, Austin Gibson 2-4 14, Trevor Linke 0-0 2, Simon Stewart 0-0 8.
Clintonville 37 32 — 69
Wittenberg-Birnamwood 27 27 — 54