Gerrard Diaz, gdiaz@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Gerrard Diaz Menominee Indian High School guard Dustin Waupoose eyes a shot from beyond the 3-point line Thursday in Keshena. MIHS defeated Bowler, 61-41.
Three players scored in double figures Thursday as the Menominee Indian High School boys basketball team beat Bowler 61-41 in a Central Wisconsin Conference-10 game in Keshena.
“It was probably the first game all year that we played loose,” Menominee Indian coach Brandon Frechette said. “It didn’t seem like they were tense.”
After a 6-6 first quarter, the Eagles (6-9, 6-6 CWC-10) went on a 11-0 run midway through the second quarter.
Dustin Waupoose, a sophomore guard, nailed a 3-point shot, which was followed by a pair of baskets by freshman guard Ron Frechette, another basket by Waupoose and a pair of free throws by junior Michael Pecore.
Ron Frechette led the Eagles with 15 points. Pecore finished with 14, and Waupoose had 13.
The coach was more than happy to see his younger players playing within themselves and getting results.
“A couple of our younger players have been trying to do too much,” he said. “We just wanted everybody to give their all and not try to do more than that. They did that tonight.
“Dustin had a great game. We asked him to pick it up on defense and he did. Ron is kind of being patient on offense, and that’s helping him out.”
Pecore, the team’s point guard, got credit for running the offense and directing his younger teammates.
“Pecore is a coach on the court,” coach Frechette said. “We’re fortunate to run our offense when he comes out; it doesn’t happen very often. He does a great job.”
The Eagles led 21-11 by halftime and opened the second half with a 14-2 run, before the Panthers (3-13, 1-11 CWC-10) put together a 9-0 run to cut the Eagles’ lead to 35-22.
“We just couldn’t hit shots,” Bowler coach Ted Kietlinski said. “Not enough movement, not enough cutting. It looked to me like were were a little passive. … We talked about that at halftime. I thought in stretches in the second half we played much better offensively, but then we had a lot of defensive lapses.”
Bowler’s run was led by 6-foot junior guard Cody Montez, who was held to just a 3-pointer in the first half before finishing with a team-high 13 points.
“He’s a really good all-around player,” Kietlinski said. “He’s a good perimeter player. He’s also a kid that is capable of taking the ball to the basket and finishing scoring there.”
The Eagles closed the door with 24 points in the fourth quarter. Waupoose scored eight points and hit two more 3-point shots while Pecore and freshman Charles Lasley each added a 3.
In junior varsity action, Menominee Indian beat Bowler 53-50 in overtime.
Bowler (41)
Montez 5 0-0 13, Olson 1 3-4 5, Kazik 1 1-1 3, Nueske 2 2-2 6, W. Miller 0 1-2 1, B. Miller 1 4-8 6, Serrano 2 0-0 5, Cameron 0 2-2 2
Menominee Indian (61)
Pecore 5 2-2 14, Madosh 1 0-1 2, Waupoose 5 0-1 13, Frechette 6 3-6 15, Smith Jr. 3 0-2 6, Caldwell 1 0-2 2, Corn 1 2-3 4, Chevalier 1 0-0 2, Lasley 1 0-0 3
Bowler 6 5 13 17 — 41
Menominee Indian 6 15 16 24 — 61