Beyer guides Lena boys basketball team past Gillett

After trailing for most of the game, the Lena High School boys basketball team hit several key shots down the stretch to rally past Gillett for a 49-45 victory in a Marinette & Oconto Conference clash on Jan. 8 in Lena.

Trailing 40-36, Lena’s Logan Shallow hit a 3-pointer to bring the hosts within a point with just over four minutes to play. From there, Max Beyer took over, scoring the final eight points for Lena.

Beyer hit a jumper to put Lena up 41-40 — the team’s last lead had been with 8:15 remaining in the first half.

After Gillett’s Aiden Patza hit a shot to give Gillett the lead with about 2:20 to play, Beyer made another field goal less than 20 seconds later to put the hosts back on top. Beyer then hit another shot with 1:35 to play to put the Wildcats up 45-42.

“You just got to try and stay patient and look for when (your shot) is there and when it’s not and try to work for good shots. But sometimes you just got to take what’s there and that’s kind of what we did,” said Beyer on how the team executed offensively in the final minutes.

After a Gillett free throw made it a two-point game, Beyer calmly knocked down two free throws with 47 seconds left. Gillett’s Austin VandeCorput then hit a tough shot in the lane with 34.7 seconds to play.

Gillett didn’t want to foul Beyer, but didn’t commit a foul when he gave the ball up and eventually had to foul Beyer with 7.4 seconds left. Beyer hit both free throws, and then Lena forced a turnover to cap its comeback win.

“The end of the game was a key situation. We wanted to foul anybody but No. 2 (Beyer). So when the ball got out of his hands, the boys just didn’t foul like we were hoping to,” said first-year Gillett coach Russ Young. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s a learning experience.”

Beyer finished the contest with 28 points, converting 10 of 11 free throw attempts. He hoped some of the team’s clutch shots down the stretch would give the team some confidence moving forward.

Lena’s Jacob Belongia tallied nine points, while Shallow had six.

Lena coach Fritz Weidner said the offensive struggles are something the team’s been working through for a couple games, but he’s been thrilled with the team’s defensive play.

“Our defense has really been coming along. We’ve had a few hiccups here and there just because of the fact that we got a lot of young guys but they’re starting to round out,” said Weidner. “Our defense has really been what’s been keeping us in games.”

Patza scored 11 points in his season debut to lead Gillett on the offensive end. VandeCorput and Aydin Franti each added 10 points, while Ben Matczak hit three triples to score nine points.

After trailing 12-6 about eight minutes into the game, Gillett went on a 14-0 run to take control. The Tigers hit three triples during the run and hit five in the first half.

Franti scored seven of his points early in the second half to help the youthful Tigers team go up seven, 31-24.

“Most of us have played for all our lives together. The freshmen have been working together and putting in more work with the sophomore and two juniors we have,” said Franti on how the team is gelling together and playing better as the season moves on. “We’ve been working on offense and are having better team chemistry.”

Gillett 23 22 — 45

Lena 19 30 — 49

Lena (49): Max Beyer 10-11 28, Logan Shallow 1-2 6, Bladyn Anderson 1-2 1, Bryce Kittredge 1-4 1, Sidney Sylvester 0-1 0, Jacob Belongia 1-2 9, Mason Simonson 0-0 4.

Gillett (45): Ben Matczak 0-0 9, Aydin Franti 4-4 10, Evan Peterson 2-4 4, Aiden Patza 3-8 11, Austin VandeCorput 1-2 10, Bradin Bjelland 1-2 1.

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