Boys Basketball: Shawano suffers heartbreaking loss

SHAWANO — The Shawano Community High School boys basketball team looked to be on its way to a special and emotional win, but West De Pere played the role of spoiler, knocking down the game-winning basket with about 15 seconds left before turning away Shawano on its final possession of a 56-55 Bay Conference thriller on Friday.

West De Pere not only spoiled Shawano’s senior night, but also Carter Weisnicht’s milestone. The senior big man scored 30 points in the game to top 1,000 points in his high school career.

“I really wanted to get it at home, that’s for sure, and my teammates helped me get that done here tonight,” said Weisnicht of the milestone. “They were getting me some good passes down low and I’m thankful for that. We fell short tonight, but 1,000 felt good at home.”

Needing 26 points to reach 1,000 coming into the night, Weisnicht’s last few points not only had the crowd buzzing in anticipation, but also helped the team rally from a late deficit.

Weisnicht converted a pair of free throws with 6 minutes, 40 seconds to play before burying a 3-pointer with just over six minutes remaining to give Shawano a 45-43 lead.

West De Pere scored the game’s next nine points and looked to have the game put away, but the hosts had one more run in them.

Freshman Jacob Landon knocked down a clutch 3-pointer for the Hawks, but West De Pere answered with a pair of free throws to go back up six.

Weisnicht then converted a three-point play, with the free throw marking his 1,000th point. He became the seventh player in Shawano boys basketball history to hit the 1,000-point milestone.

“It’s certainly always nicer when you can do it at home, when you can really properly celebrate it and congratulate what is a great achievement,” said Shawano coach Dave Ambrosius. “Nothing but positive things to say about Carter with his career here. He’s a kid that’s shown up, he’s been a four-year contributor for us and obviously has been a big focal point for us the last two years.”

After West De Pere missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity, Weisnicht knocked down two more free throws after being fouled to bring Shawano within a point. Weisnicht also scored the go-ahead basket with about 50 seconds left.

Instead of taking a timeout to talk things over, West De Pere kept working the ball around before finally connecting on a shot with about 15 seconds to play.

Shawano then took a timeout to set up a game-winning shot. In the huddle, Shawano expected the visitors to apply some full-court pressure before playing man defense, but West De Pere instead dropped into a zone defense in an attempt to slow the Hawks down.

Shawano patiently worked the ball around the perimeter before Nick Sherman found an opening in the middle of the zone. His teammates got him the ball and the senior put up a shot in the waning seconds, but the shot didn’t fall. The ball was knocked around and eventually time ran out.

“They had been weak in the middle all night and when they went to trap in the corner and get pressure on us, I saw the opening in the middle so I just kind of cut and got to that opening,” said Sherman of the last play. “I wish I could have knocked it down, but it’s an open shot.”

“That last shot in the game, I told Nick Sherman after the game, ‘We’ll take that shot 10 out of 10 times.’ Sometimes the shots just don’t go down,” said Ambrosius. “I loved the way our kids were composed, especially on that last possession. We were able to work the ball around and get a great look. It feels good to perform well in a big atmosphere and late in the season in general. This is about the time you want to be playing your best basketball.”

West De Pere 30 26 — 56

Shawano 24 31 — 55

West De Pere (56): Lukas Ricker 0-0 5, Michael Moran 0-0 3, Ethan Heck 0-0 3, Brady Darrow 1-4 3, Alec Schneider 0-0 3, Marcus VanVreede 2-2 11, Raef Deschane 1-2 5, Dawson Nordgaard 2-2 16, Jalen Thomas 2-2 7.

Shawano (55): Elliott Lowney 2-4 2, Nick Sherman 0-0 6, Jacob Landon 0-0 6, Jayden VanOss 1-2 6, Ethan Schwitzer 0-0 3, Rory Johnson 0-0 2, Carter Weisnicht 8-9 30.

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