GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - Losing streak ends with Gilman’s solid performance in Cornell

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

Gilman’s long-awaited first boys basketball win in almost 35 months came Thursday when the Pirates led wire-towire in a 48-44 non-conference win at Cornell.

The Pirates jumped ahead in the first half with outstanding execution in their flex offense, setting solid screens and finding the open cutters with on-point passing. They led by as many as 14 before settling for a 31-19 halftime lead.

Gilman led by as many as 15 in the second half before Cornell made a furious late run to get within four.

But, this time, the Pirates hung tough under pressure, got a big bucket from senior Caleb Marion to stem Cornell’s momentum and were able to celebrate afterwards for the first time since the 2020-21 team beat Cornell 63-60 on Jan. 12, 2021.

“Any time you look at a senior after the second game of the year and he has tears in his eyes because they won, that is a special moment for the program,” Gilman’s first-year head coach Tyler Pockat said. “I was so happy for the juniors and seniors to finally be on the right end of this 59-game storm we couldn’t get out of. Our group of boys know the Pirate culture is changing and they are locked in and focused. (Assistant) Cory (Halida) and I are very fortunate to coach a group of boys that responds to us well and works their tails off for the culture they are creating. It’s only one, but it was a special one. Now it’s back to work.”

Patience on offense led to good shots and the Pirates knocked them down, 22 of 43, in a 50% shooting night from the field. That included 19 of 37 shots from two-point range. They turned the ball over just 13 times, the same as Cornell and outrebounded the Chiefs 30-17. They turned 10 offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points. They could’ve made things easier on themselves late but wound up just four of 11 from the free throw line. Cornell was just nine of 19 and didn’t take full advantage. The Chiefs shot 37.5% from the field (15 of 40) and were just five of 19 from long range.

“We talked a lot last week about the tempo of the game with Cornell, and the kids understood our game plan was to play solid defense where we could create offensive opportunities on the other end of the court, and we did just that,” Pockat said. “That was our best offensive game so far with only 13 turnovers and so many defensive stops. We also understand that you have to push the pedal down and finish better with a 12-point lead with nine minutes to go. We are still learning many aspects of the game of basketball, but we are seeing big improvements each and every time we step on the court. The boys have been great about asking questions and being vocal on the floor and that’s a positive step in the right direction.”

Other than 0-0, the game’s only tie was 8-8 following a 3-point shot by Cornell’s Bryce DeJongh.

Gilman started to separate with a basket by Marion and a baseline pull-up jumper by Joey Syryczuk. The Pirates then got a big spark from freshman Logan Halida, who scored eight of his teamhigh 14 points in a 12-4 spurt that put Gilman up 25-16. Halida, Marion and Brayden Olynick scored baskets near the end of the half that helped open up a 31-17 lead before DeJongh closed the half with two free throws.

Tony Syryczuk scored and then assisted on a Halida hoop to put Gilman up 35-21. Freshman Beau Pockat scored off a Joey Syryczuk assist and Sawyer Winger sank two free throws to hit Gilman’s biggest lead at 39-24. A Pockat transition score had Gilman up 41-28 when Cornell’s Bentley Spangler hit back-to-back 3s to jumpstart the Chiefs’ late rally. A threepoint play by post Torren Parker made it 45-41 with 2:47 left. But Marion’s rebound basket off a missed free throw by Halida with about a minute left calmed things down for the Pirates. Marion rebounded a DeJongh miss, leading to Pockat’s free throw that made it a three-possession game, providing plenty of cushion to offset Spangler’s 3-pointer with 14.3 seconds left.

Marion had 10 points in the win, Pockat had seven, Joey Syryczuk scored six, Tony Syryczuk had four points, Olynick had three and Max Ustianowski and Winger scored two apiece. Joey Syryczuk had six rebounds, while Marion and Olynick had five each and Tony Syryczuk grabbed four. Joey Syryczuk had four assists, Tony Syryczuk had three and Ustianowski had two.

Parker led Cornell with 17 points. Spangler had 12, including three 3s.

“I think the contribution our freshmen gave us certainly added to the flow of the game,” Pockat said. “The moment wasn’t too big for them that night and it was fun to watch. The four guards did a nice job running the offense together and took the pressure off some of our guards who normally have to be floor generals the whole game. I can’t say enough about our bigs. They battled all night and collected a lot of boards for us. It was just a great group effort from the boys.”

Gilman hosts Owen-Withee tonight, Thursday, in its Eastern Cloverbelt Conference opener and then goes to Alma Center Lincoln Friday for a non-conference battle with the Hornets. Gilman is at Colby Tuesday.

Flambeau 55, Gilman 33

Thursday’s win unfortunately did not turn into a winning streak for the Pirates Monday when they were dropped 55-33 in non-conference play at Flambeau.

Neither team shot particularly well, but Flambeau found an advantage when it was able to push the tempo and get baskets in transition. The Falcons scored 18 points in transition and scored 17 points off Gilman turnovers. Gilman had 25 miscues with the basketball while Flambeau had only 11.

Gilman was just 12 of 50 from the field (24%). Flambeau jacked up 26 3s and made only four but got enough points inside, making 18 of 45 two-point shots, to win by a fairly comfortable margin.

The rim was especially unkind to Gilman in the first half. The Pirates made just four of 24 shots from the field and trailed 26-10 at halftime. Things were tight for about the first 10 minutes. Gilman led 6-5 after a Halida basket, but a free throw by Oliver Taylor and a 3-pointer from Giles Groothousen put Flambeau up for good. Taylor scored and Chanse Ludescher scored off a turnover for a 13-6 lead. Tony Syryczuk’s bucket stopped the run momentarily, but the Falcons closed the half on a 13-2 surge.

The Pirates made one solid run at the Falcons early in the second half. Down 31-13, they got scores from Halida and Joey Syryczuk. Tony Syryczuk’s 3 answered one by Flambeau’s Kyle Heldt. Halida banked in a jumper and Marion sank two free throws to cut the lead to 3424 with 13:24 left. Another Marion score made it 36-26, but Gilman went cold for about a seven-minute stretch and that was enough for Flambeau to push the lead to 47-28.

“We saw some good things and 25 bad things, which would be turnovers,” Pockat said. “We don’t score enough points to give the ball away 25 times and the boys know that. We did rebound well and would have been right there if we could have controlled the ball better. I’m very pleased where we are three games in. It’s a long season and we believe we will be in every game if we continue to build chemistry with each other and play gritty defense. We hang our hats on D and the rest will fall into place.”

Marion made some things happen inside and scored nine points to go with five rebounds. Halida also had nine points and four boards. Tony Syryczuk scored seven points and had six rebounds and four assists. Joey Syryczuk had four points and nine rebounds. Ustianowski had four points and six rebounds. Olynick had four rebounds and two assists.

Groothousen led Flambeau (2-1) with 18 points and seven rebounds. Taylor had 12 points and seven boards. Kevin Ross had 10 points.