Amherst prevails in first matchup
By Greg Seubert
In the end, there was too much Amherst and not enough Iola-Scandinavia.
Amherst used a 10-0 run late in the game Jan. 27 and went on to a 61-48 win in a matchup of Central Wisconsin 8 Conference boys’ basketball teams in Iola.
Meanwhile, I-S also handed Pacelli a 57-47 loss Jan. 28.
Amherst 61, I-S 48
Another Amherst run helped the Falcons take a 26-18 halftime lead. Jon Bauer’s basket gave the Thunderbirds a 17-16 lead, but the Falcons then scored 10 of the next 11 points for an eight-point advantage at the break.
The T-Birds answered by scoring the first eight points of the second half and Kellan Wandtke tied the game at 26-26 with 14:30 remaining in the game.
Connor Kurki’s three-pointer gave the T-Birds their final lead at 29-28, but the Falcons took the lead for good on a pair of Josh Cisewski free throws to make it 30-29.
A 12-3 run that included three baskets from Colton Groholski gave the Falcons a 42-32 lead and the T-Birds never got any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Kenny Holz led the T-Birds with 21 points and Kurki added eight. Groholski and Josh Schude led Amherst with 15 points each and Cisewski also finished in double figures with 10.
I-S fell to 4-2 in conference play and 7-6 overall with the loss, while Amherst improved to 6-2 in the CWC-8 and 9-4 overall.
The two teams are scheduled to face each other again Monday, Feb. 20, in Amherst.
I-S 57, Pacelli 47
The Cardinals led 20-12 at halftime, but the T-Birds outscored the visitors 45-27 in the second half to get the CWC-8 win.
Holz, Kurki and Charlie Stockwell led the T-Birds with 23, 14 and 11 points, respectively, while Andrew Blanker scored 21 to lead the Cardinals.
Amherst defeated the Iola-Scandinavia Thunderbirds 61-48 in a Jan. 27 matchup of Central Wisconsin 8 Conference boys’ basketball teams in Iola. Holly Neumann Video