CG-Belgium stifles Ozaukee

The Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ basketball team slammed the brakes on Ozaukee’s offense and stopped its own losing streak at home last Friday.

The Rockets turned a 10-point halftime lead into an easy 62-37 victory thanks to high-energy defense that held the Warriors to three field goals in the second half.

From the three-minute, 42-second mark of the first half to the 2:23 mark of the second — nearly 20 minutes — the Warriors did not make a basket from the field and only went 6-for-14 from the free-throw line in that stretch.

“After the first half we really wanted to focus on sliding our feet and having a hand up, so I guess we really just put that into play,” guard Michael Navis said.

Point guard Jeffrey Emperley led the Rockets with 15 points, going 6-for-11 from the field. Forward Ethan Wonser scored 11. Matthew Voskuil had eight points, Navis had six and Max Ford had five.

But the Rockets’ defense was the key to this game. They combined for 10 steals — three by Wonser — five blocks and plenty more pressured and altered shots to keep the Warriors off their game.

“We started having hands everywhere and that made a big difference, just getting tips every where,” Ford said.

For Emperley, “I was just going to play my heart out. Noah Miller — good shooting, good everything, I’m just going to shut it down tonight.”

Strong defense made things easier on the other end of the floor.

“Once the defense hits me and I’ve got that intensity, that offense is a whole other game. I’m going to hit my guys and drive and dish out and maybe score,” Emperley said.

Other Rockets gained the same boost from tough defense.

“If you get a stop it gives you so much more momentum, you have a way better chance of scoring because you’re just feeling it at that point,” Wonser said.

By the time Warrior senior forward Blake West hit his team’s first field goal of the second half, the game was out of reach at 58-31. The Rockets had gone on a 31-8 run during the Warriors’ field goal drought.

“I knew our defense was pretty intense. We were flying around a little bit,” coach Josh Ketterhagen said.

“They struggled from the field tonight. That helped us.”

One of the sparks came from Ketterhagen’s son Bryce, who spent just as much time on the floor after diving for loose balls as he did on his feet.

“His intensity has never dropped and he’s all over the floor. That’s all we’re asking of anybody. Sitting on the floor, diving after balls, it gets us energized,” coach Ketterhagen said.

For Ozaukee coach Bob Domach, shooting was the game.

“Cedar Grove shot really well and we shot poorly, that was the bottom line. We had a few defensive lapses that we have to clean up,” he said.

The victory stopped a four-game losing streak for the Rockets. They lost at Kohler, 67-37, on Jan. 15, after falling behind 34-15 at halftime. Emperley had eight points. Carter Gebler scored 24 for Kohler, which is 8-2 in the Big East.

The Rockets, 3-7 in the Big East and 6-8 overall, had Tuesday’s game against Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah moved to Jan. 31 due to weather. They play at conference rival Random Lake on Friday and at non-conference opponent Two Rivers on Tuesday, Jan. 29.

The Warriors, 4-6 in the Big East and 6-7 overall, have lost three straight.

They were pounded, 66-27, by Howards Grove, 9-1 in the Big East, on Jan. 15.

“Howards Grove is the best team we have played all season. They are well coached and experienced,” Domach said.

“We just couldn’t get anything going on offense. They took us away from anything we tried to do on offense.”

The Tigers were up, 30-12, at halftime, and never looked back.

Blake Pedrin scored 23 points.

Miller scored 17 for Ozaukee, and Mitch Weyker had five.

Ozaukee was scheduled to play at Kohler on Tuesday and host Mishicot on Friday in conference games. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, they play at Cristo Rey Jesuit for a non-conference game.

Correspondent Deb Hamm contributed to this article.