GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL - Another streak put to rest by the Pirates

GILMAN BOYS BASKETBALL

On February 24, 2020, the Gilman boys basketball team defeated the Greenwood Indians 58-49 in a game played at Gilman. A lot in the sports world, and the world in general, has changed since that night.

One thing that hadn’t happened since that night was the Pirates winning an Eastern Cloverbelt Conference game. That changed Friday night, when the Pirates the were able to snap the program’s 44game conference losing streak by defeating Greenwood 53-25 in another game played in Gilman.

The Indians kept the game close in the first half, but the Pirates were able to pull away in the second half.

The Pirates jumped out to an early 8-4 lead. But a couple of turnovers got the Indians right back in the game, as they took a 10-8 lead. At that point, Gilman head coach Tyler Pockat called for the Pirates to start pressing the Indians. The Pirates switched back and forth between a full-court trap press and a man-to-man press. The pressure certainly worked, as the Indians would not sink another field goal until partway through the second half.

At the tail end of the first half, Greenwood would led 12-10 after two made free throws. Anthony Syryczuk got the Pirates the lead back for a short time with a long two-point shot and a runner on a drive along the baseline to make it 14-12. Before the half, Greenwood hit two free throws to tie the game at 14-14.

“In the first half we missed a lot of good opportunities to score and just couldn’t get shots to fall,” Pockat said, In the second half, Gilman continued its man-to-man full court press. The Pirates went on a 5-0 run to start the second half led by Syryczuk’s 3-point basket.

The Indians ended their field-goal drought to make the 19-16. The Pirates answered with a tough defensive effort, forcing many turnovers, which limited the number of shots the Indians were able to take. Logan Halida secured a tipped ball and went in for an easy layup make the score 23-16. Syryczuk got a steal and layup of his own right after that. The Pirates went on a 16-0 run to take the lead 35-16.

The Indians were finally able to stop the Pirates run by getting into the bonus and converting a couple of free throws to make the score 35-18.

After a Gilman timeout, the Pirates broke down Greenwood’s zone defense when Syryczuk found Beau Pockat for a corner mid-range jumper.

A short time later, Halida hit a runner and was fouled on the play. He converted the free throw for a three-point play, extending the Pirates lead to 48-18.

After both teams emptied the bench, the Indians scored five points in the final minutes of the game, but the Pirates won the game with a final score of 53-25.

“I’m really proud of the boys to regroup at the half and come out and put up 39 points (in the second half),” Pockat said.

The Pirates shot much better from the field than in previous games, with an overall field goal percentage of 38.1%. From inside the 3-point line the Pirates shot 44.9%. A big key to the high shooting percentage was that the Pirates were able to score 26 points in the paint, giving themselves much easier looks.

“Life is good when the ball goes in the hole,” Pockat said.

Halida had a nice game for the Pirates, leading the way in scoring with 22 points. Syryczuk had nine points, while Caleb Marion added six.

Max Ustianowski had eight rebounds to lead the Pirates, while Joey Syryczuk had seven.

Gilman was able to keep the defensive pressure on Greenwood, especially in the second half.

“Watching film on them we realized that we could help ourselves out by putting pressure on the ball and turning that into transition points and we did just that in the second half,” coach Pockat said.

The Pirates had 16 steals on the night and, in total, forced 30 Greenwood turnovers. Anthony Syryczuk and Halida with led the team in steals with three apiece.

The Pirates had 16 assists on the night, led by Anthony Syryczuk with four. Joey Syryczuk and Dalton Wisocky added three assists apiece.

“This group continues to grind and work and we can’t say enough about their determination to get better,” Pockat said. “It says a lot about the kids we have in this school.”

Up next for the Pirates, they will hit the road tonight, Thursday, to face Neillsville at 7:15 p.m.

Gilman’s Anthony Syryczuk plays tight man-to-man defense on Greenwood’s Keegan Gipe during the second half of MATT KRUEGER/THE STAR NEWS