Red Robin boys start 2009-10 season with a victory over Chargers Nov. 25, 2009 Senior forward Skylar Cameron placed the first two points on the board to opened the 2009-10 boys basketball season Tuesday in Wittenberg. With both teams appearing to need a chance to warm up, the Antigo Red Robins eventually kicked things into high gear topping Wittenberg-Birnamwood 67-42.
Down 5-4 at the 3:52 mark in the first quarter, the Robins advanced off a 10 point run by senior guard Jordan Mach who finished the night with 35 points, 17 in the first quarter alone and 24 from behind the arch. The Chargers were never able to regain the lead after that point.
Outpacing the Chargers, Antigo led at the end of one, 21-10.
Sticking with his starting five (Cameron, Mach, Chris Sailer, Matt Littlejohn and Andreas Ezer) the majority of the first half, Robin coach Jesse Shaw had a good chance to assess this season's team.
"We started off a bit slow," Shaw noted. "Offensively the boys were a bit shaky, but defensively things looked OK."
Maximizing on contributions off the bench, Antigo sought relief from Connor Lund, Joe Fronek and Jackson Draeger in the second quarter. In controlling the tempo of the game, the Robins expanded its lead to 35-22 by the intermission with its largest margin 17 points.
"The players need to learn to play against your potential—not necessarily your opponent or the scoreboard," Shaw said. "We missed the mark in the first half, but adjusted in the second."
The Robins continued to dominate the third quarter by widening the gap 35 points , 59-24, at the end of three.
With a commanding lead, Shaw gave his top five a rest, allowing the bench some game time for the fourth quarter.
Making their varsity debut were Tyler Schwarz, Ivan Flannery, Ryan Pikka and Zach Weirzbach.
Cameron finished the night with 12 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of play. He was the only other starter with more than six points.
"For our first game you can't expect a ton of positives, yes we won," Shaw said. "There are things to work on and that is expected this early in the season."
First year Charger coach Lon Ebel representing the Central Wisconsin-Eight Conference expressed overall pleasure with his team.
"We did what we wanted to do. When you play a quality team like Antigo you need to be out there for all four quarters,” he said. “Yes, we got behind in the third quarter and the boys had a hard time digging themselves out and coming back for the fourth, but we did have a solid first half."
Despite the major deficit going into the fourth quarter, the Chargers made a strong showing bringing the game to within 23 points before conceding the 67-42 loss.
"You play a kid like Mach, he doesn't miss and he definitely was on tonight," Ebel said. "That can make all the difference in the ball game."
Wittenberg-Birnamwood's big guy, 6’ 7” senior Rick Parker led the Chargers with 18 points and 12 rebounds (six defensively). Brandon Brehmer and Nic Bushman each finished with eight points.
"The guys kept their heads up, fought hard and didn't quit. That is something I am really proud of," Ebel added.
In looking ahead, Ebel sees his squad as a contender in the conference, "Now we just need to regroup and keep plugging away."
The win gave Antigo a 1-0 record, while the Chargers start out 0-1.
The Chargers return to the hardwood Dec. 1 when they travel to Clintonville.
Antigo will travel to the Manitowoc Thanksgiving Tournament where they will face Whitefish Bay Friday at 6 p.m. The action continues Saturday with game time dependent on Friday's outcome. The Robins will open its Great Northern Conference schedule Dec. 4 when they host Mosinee. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
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