With the suddenness of a flash flood, an unspectacular evening turned madly entertaining Friday night at Shawano Community High School as the Hawks’ basketball team took the measure 0f New London to stay in the hunt for a Bay Conference title with a 65-37 pasting.
Freshman Eric Carl was the primary rainmaker in the blowout, as he broke open a close game with three consecutive 3-point bombs to start the second quarter — two of which originated from another area code — and put the visiting Bulldogs in a hole from which they would not recover.
“That’s my job on the team,” said Carl, who finished with 12 points on four 3-pointers. “That’s my strength. I practice to extend my range, and I’m working to extend it even farther.”
Zeke Gueths led Shawano (12-2, 7-2 Bay) with 16 points and seven rebounds on a night where Hawks coach Chris Kellett was able to empty his bench midway through the final period.
“He can shoot it,” Kellett said of Carl. “He’s got a great work ethic. He stays in the gym after practice working on his shot. And Zeke had a nice game, too. Anytime he plays like that, it opens up the outside game for us.”
Jack Lacy also got in on the long-distance act, knocking down three treys to account for his nine points, while senior guard Sajen Knueppel also chipped in nine.
Tyler Jagiello had 11 points to lead New London (4-10, 2-7), which had crept to within 14-9 in the first quarter on a bucket by Ty Barrington before Carl’s shower of 3-balls.
The solid performance bodes well for the Hawks, who now stare down the barrel of a showdown at Bay rival Seymour on Tuesday. Seymour handed Shawano one of its two defeats, a 50-33 decision last Dec. 12.
“That’s a big game,” Gueths said. “We’re playing better now than we were then. We just have to stay humble, stay hungry. Winning the conference is always the goal, but we also want to make a better run in the playoffs this year.”
Shawano won a regional title last season before bowing out of the postseason in the first game of the sectional. With a nucleus of three returning all-conference players (Zack Sousek, Gueths, Lacy) and a capable supporting cast, high hopes are justified.
“Our goal is to play our best and continue to improve every week,” Kellett said. “We played poorly (against Seymour) last time. We’re going to play as hard as we can and see what happens.”
Shawano (65)
Reuter 0 1-2 1, Mickelson 1 0-0 3, Kneupple 2 4-4 9, Richards 0 2-2 2, Mueller 1 0-0 3, Huntington 0 2-4 2, Sousek 1 1-3 3, Bartz 0 1-2 1, Jack Lacy 3 0-0 9, Carl 4 0-0 12, Hintz 1 2-5 4, Guetz 6 3-5 16.
New London (37)
Porath 2 0-0 5, Buelow 1 0-0 3, Thomson 0 1-2 1, Thomas 1 2-3 4, Barrington 2 1-2 6, Thiemer 1 3-4 5, Jagiello 5 1-2 11, Bierman 1 0-5 2.
Shawano 11 17 11 26 — 65
New London 6 8 7 16 — 37
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