Student Reporter: Nick Bornheimer
Orange flooded the Sheboygan South High School field house on Saturday afternoon, as fans draped in orange from both Cedar Grove-Belgium and Oakfield came out to watch their teams play. A battle of the number one and number three seeded teams had all the makings to be a great game, and it lived up to expectations.
Scoring went back and forth early on; with both teams matching up fairly evenly. The Rockets began to build a lead in the late first with dominate inside play from Jesse Anderson and Josh Peterson. Cedar Grove-Belgium led 15-9 at the end of one and took the momentum going into the second quarter.
Oakfield made some apparent adjustments and came out of the break swinging, going on an 8-2 run and tying the game at 17, forcing Cedar Grove-Belgium coach Jim Meinen to take a timeout and calm down his troops. The effort to calm the team down did not translate as sloppy play carried over after the timeout.
Oakfield could not capitalize on second quarter slump of the Rockets, scoring only 10 points and going 0-4 from the free throw line late in the first half. Despite the Rockets mustering only four points in the second quarter, they went into halftime tied 19 all.
Cedar Grove-Belgium got the ball to start the second half and made good with it, scoring a quick two from a foul troubled Anderson. The Rockets then orchestrated a 9-4 run, and with the help of a monster block by sophomore Weston Meinen as time in the third quarter expired, went into the fourth with momentum on their side.
The fourth quarter began with a bang for the Rockets. Chris Peterson hit a big 3-pointer that energized the fans and gave the team their biggest lead of the game to that point. Chris was key in the second half, scoring 10 of his 13 points. The Oaks switched to a full court press partway through the fourth quarter, pestering the Rockets and allowing their offense to slowly climb back into the game.
A questionable foul by Jesse Anderson late in the quarter fouled him out of the game, stripping the Rockets of their 6’7” difference maker and putting the Oaks into the double bonus. After a colossal block and quick two by senior Tim Baumann, the Rockets fan section went into a frenzy, assuming that would be enough to wrap up the game. This was before Kyle Hungerford hit a clutch 3-pointer, making it a one possession game and giving the Oaks life.
The full court press that flustered the Rockets so badly earlier came back to bite the Oaks at a crucial moment. As Oakfield looked to foul off of the inbound pass, senior captain Jason Croatt beat the press and scored a layup with 15 seconds to play sealing a 45-40 Rockets victory.
“I just found a seam in the defense and went with it,” said Croatt when asked about the exciting play. “They just let me go, so I did.”
Jason only finished with four points but made arguably the biggest shot of the game.
The Rockets struggled from the free throw line down the stretch, going only 10-20 in the fourth quarter, but the Oaks poor 3-point shooting allowed the Rockets to grind out a close one.
Chris Peterson of the Rockets and Cody Veleke of the Oaks both had a game high 13 points. Additionally, Jesse Anderson finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. For the first time in 18 years, the Rockets can hold the regional championship plaque up victoriously.
This thrilling win advances Cedar Grove-Belgium to the second week of post-season play. The Rockets will take on Cambridge Blue Jays this Thursday in West Bend, looking to take one more step towards Madison.
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