Pirates make a push, but first win eludes them against Lake Holcombe

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

Brayden Olynick scored a career-high 24 points but the Gilman boys basketball team fell a bit short Dec. 27 in an entertaining non-conference contest that went Lake Holcombe’s way 67-57.

Two key runs by the visiting Chieftains were the difference in an otherwise even game. The first opened up a doubledigit lead that Gilman fought back from and cut to two, but the second put Lake Holcombe’s lead back into double digits and allowed the Chieftains to hold off a late charge by the Pirates, spurred by their defensive pressure.

“Our defense has definitely come a long way this year,” Gilman head coach Bobbi Marion said after the loss. “Having Sam out there has been a big help.”

Offensively, Olynick doubled his previous top scoring output of the season, knocking down a couple of 3-pointers and attacking the Chieftains with midrange jumpers and in the paint. Caleb Marion added 11 points inside, while Dalton Wisocky and Anthony Syryczuk adding seven points apiece with Syryczuk’s total being a season-high for the freshman guard.

Those offensive totals helped make up for the loss of starter Joey Syryczuk, who injured his ankle in pre-game warm-ups and did not play. The Pirates are already without starting guard Branden Ustianowski for a few weeks due to a knee injury.

The offense clicked for much of the first half. The Pirates took a quick 7-2 lead, but a 9-0 run on a pair of 3s from Brian Strzok and one from Taye Yeager gave Lake Holcombe the lead at 11-7 and the guests never trailed again, even though the game was tight most of the way.

The Pirates pulled within one six times in the first half, with the secondto- last being 29-28 on a Wisocky score off a baseline inbound play. Ryley Craker scored twice for Lake Holcombe, but Gilman got a steal and breakaway score from Sam Syryczuk with 1:13 left and two free throws from Anthony Syryczuk with 28 seconds left to pull back within 33-32. Strzok hit two free throws with 21.2 seconds left to give Lake Holcombe a 3532 halftime lead.

Lake Holcombe’s first second-half spurt was a 7-0 run that opened up a 42-32 lead. Yeager hit a 3-pointer, and Craker and Yeager scored off steals. The Pirates came right back, getting rebound buckets from Marion and Anthony Syryczuk and a 3 from Olynick in an 8-0 run that made it 42-40. Olynick scored five straight points, including a three-point play off an offensive rebound to make it 48-46 with 11:28 to go.

But then the Pirates went cold and Lake Holcombe took advantage, getting 10 points from Yeager, including a pair of 3s in an 11-0 surge that made it 59-46 with seven minutes left.

Gilman didn’t quit and had Lake Holcombe’s ball handlers rattled when the Pirates went to late man-to-man pressure. Olynick and Sam Syryczuk scored to make it 63-53 with 3:20 still to play and Olynick added a bucket at the 2:45 mark to cut the lead to eight. But Yeager scored off a Gilman turnover and the Pirates failed to capitalize on a couple more Chieftain turnovers, which could’ve put more pressure on the visitors.

“We had them right there in the second half and I thought we were going to get them,” coach Marion said.

Sam Syryczuk finished with six points for Gilman and Adam Draeger added a first-half basket for his first points of the season.

Yeager led Lake Holcombe with 25 points, 19 of which were scored in the seconds half. Strzok scored 17 and Craker added 12.

“With the exception of Owen-Withee and Bruce, we’ve really been running with every team,” Marion said. “It’s just the missed layups and missed free throws. We’ve really been working on our free throws and that’s coming along (11 of 22 in this game). Those easy missed shots are something that we can’t have.”

Gilman’s Tuesday game at Eastern Cloverbelt Conference contender Neillsville was postponed due to the icy weather with no make-up date announced yet. The Pirates are back at home Friday, hosting league foe Loyal at 7:15 p.m. The Pirates will make up a Dec. 22 postponement at Greenwood Monday at 7:15 p.m., host Alma Center Lincoln Tuesday in non-conference play at 7:15 p.m. and then head to Spencer for an ECC battle on Jan. 12.