Back-to-back games can take a toll on a high school basketball team.
Take the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers, for example. The Chargers hosted Shawano on Dec. 22, headed to Clintonville the following day and ended up with a pair of hard-fought nonconference wins.
One day after handing Shawano a 57-56 loss, the Chargers improved to 7-0 with a 59-51 nonconference win over the Truckers.
A 19-2 run in the first half turned a 10-10 tie into a 29-12 lead for the Chargers.
Clintonville trailed 36-23 at halftime but opened the second half with an 8-2 run that cut the lead to seven points. Oliver Fraaza helped push the lead back to double digits with his third and fourth 3-pointers, and his 3-point play gave the Chargers a 55-41 lead.
The Truckers trailed by as many as 18 points before scoring the game’s final 10 points while holding the Chargers scoreless over the last two minutes.
“They fight and they battle,” Wittenberg-Birnamwood coach Garrett Rogowski said of the Truckers. “For us, it’s understanding how to execute and be disciplined down the stretch, even when we’re ahead. It’s something we have to get better at.”
Clintonville fell to 1-6 with the loss, and the Chargers improved to 7-0 following the back-to-back wins.
“High schoolers aren’t always used to that,” Rogowski said. “It’s not a regular occurrence for them. This was our first one. The legs are feeling a little rubbery and different. We’re playing pretty well defensively; we’re rotating. We’re rebounding, and that’s keeping us in games. That seems to be our strength right now.”
The wins didn’t count toward the Central Wisconsin Conference-East standings, but they’re still big, according to Rogowski.
“They still matter,” he said. “We still want to see them continue to trend upward with a lot of the things we’re trying to do. Overall, I’m proud of the kids. They keep battling and finding a way.”
Fraaza led all scorers with 21 points, while Kaden Yaeger and Zandyr Barke added 13 and 12, respectively. Bryer Hagberg led the Truckers with 16 points, and Max Young and Conner Magee chipped in with 15 and 14, respectively.
“They’re going to keep getting better,” Rogowski said. “They have some guys that are going to develop. It seems like every night out, you’ve got to respect who you’re playing and you have to be ready.”
Rogowski expects the Chargers to be in the mix for a CWC-East championship this season, along with Bonduel and Iola-Scandinavia.
“Iola and Bonduel are obviously very successful programs,” he said. “We’re going to get to see where we are after the break. We sprinkle a few nonconference (games) in there, but by and large, we’re hitting the CWC pretty hard.”
