Luther Prep had a poison to pick on Friday night.
The Phoenix chose the perimeter poison.
“Size-wise, we don’t match up great (with Lakeside Lutheran),” Luther Prep boys basketball coach Steve Vasold said. “We tried to take away the inside and the penetration, and then they knocked down nine 3s in the first half.”
Lakeside Lutheran opened the game on a 23-8 run and kept the lead in double digits the rest of the way on its way to a 68-51 Capitol North romp over Luther Prep at LLHS.
The Phoenix clogged the lane and were careful enough with the ball on offense to deny Lakeside senior forward Levi Birkholz any dunk opportunities. Birkholz settled for putting on a shooting clinic with a game-high 22 points including four triples.
Birkholz got plenty of chances to rest, because the Warriors just had too many weapons to account for.
Senior guard Will Miller added 10 points. Junior guard Kooper Mlsna added nine. Senior forward Anders Liermann and senior guard/forward Trey Lauber each added six and senior forward Ethan Schuetz added six.
The Warriors used a 15-0 run over five minutes early in the first half to push ahead. Lakeside scored six times in seven possessions, including four 3-pointers, to lead 19-5 and never looked back, finishing 11 of 22 from 3-point range.
“We came out of the gates and played really well,” Lakeside Lutheran boys basketball coach Todd Jahns said. “That early run got Luther Prep on its heels. We were sharing the basketball and moving the basketball. We weren’t over dribbling and multiple guys were open and able to hit shots.
“This is the best we’ve shot this year and the best we’ve run our halfcourt offense. It was natural for multiple kids — Trey, Anders and Kooper off the bench — to take shots we want them to take.”
With the exception of Miller, this lineup runs from 6-foot-4 to 6-8. Lakeside (11-1, 3-1 Capitol North) shot well from the outside, passed well enough to create scoring chances in the lane and burned the Phoenix a few times with takeaways and transition scoring.
Luther Prep (6-5, 0-4) never stopped battling. Junior guard Ben Vasold got his points, scoring 18 including three 3s. Senior guard Jude Lawrenz added 10.
The Phoenix opened the second half on a 8-0 run by looking to their role players to score.
Liermann countered with all seven of his points in the opening minutes of the second half to make sure Lakeside’s lead was never smaller than 16 points.
LAKESIDE LUTHERAN 68,
LUTHER PREP 51
Luther Prep 45 23 — 68
Lakeside 22 29 — 51
Luther Prep (fg ft-fta tp) — Fix 1 0-0 3, Vasold 7 1-2 18, Pederson 1 0-0 2, Lawrenz 4 1-2 10, Mittelstadt 2 0-0 4, Burrow 0 0-1 0, Splinter 2 0-0 4, Robinson 1 1-2 3, Archer 1 1-4 3, Schmidt 2 0-0 4 Totals 21 4-11 51
Lakeside Lutheran (fg ft-fta tp) — Lauber 3 0-0 7, Miller 4 0-0 10, Jahnke 1 0-0 3, Schuetz 2 1-2 6, Reinke 0 2-2 2, Birkholz 9 0-0 22, Mlsna 4 0-0 9, Liermann 2 2-2 7, Jorgensen 1 0-0 2 Totals 26 5-6 68
Three-point goals — LP (Vasold 3, Fix, Lawrenz), LL (Birkholz 4, Miller 2, Lauber, Yahnke, Schuetz, Mlsna, Liermann) 11
Total fouls — LP 9, LL 11
SATURDAY’S RESULT
BROOKFIELD — Levi Birkholz scored 15 and Anders Liermann had 13 as the Warriors pounded winless Menomonee Falls 78-44 in the Luke Homan Showcase at Brookfield Central High School on Saturday, Jan. 21.
The Warriors (12-1) soared ahead 47-14 at halftime and all 13 of their players scored. Ethan Schuetz, who was named Player of the Game, contributed nine points and Trey Lauber and Kooper Mlsna chipped in eight points each.
“Menomonee Falls came at us and they are a pressuring team,” Jahns said. “Our defense and rebounding in both games this weekend was very stout, limiting the other team’s ability to get to the rim while controlling the boards. In terms of how we want to play, these two games are as close to what we want to be as we’ve been all year.
“Our top nine scorers were significant offensive factors in the first half on Saturday. They got their points when the outcome was being determined.”
Lakeside plays at Mount Horeb on Tuesday.
LAKESIDE 78, MENOMONEE FALLS 44
Lakeside 47 31 — 78
Menomonee Falls 14 30 — 44
Lakeside Lutheran (fg fta-ftm pts) — Gresens 0 1-4 1, Neumann 1 0-0 2, Lauber 3 2-3 8, Miller 1 1-2 4, Yahnke 2 0-2 5, Schuetz 3 3-4 9, Zuberbier 1 0-0 2, Reinke 1 1-2 3, Birkholz 7 1-2 15, Mlsna 3 0-0 8, Powers 2 0-0 4, Liermann 5 3-3 13, Jorgensen 2 0-0 4. Totals 31 12-22 78.
Menomonee Falls — Patti 1 0-1 3, O. Fischer 2 0-0 6, Johnson 2 0-0 5, Fyre 4 1-1 10, Hill 1 1-2 4, Tikkuri 1 0-0 2, Eberhardy 1 2-4 4, Baker 2 0-0 6, Mulberry 1 0-0 2, E. Fischer 1 0-0 2.
3-point goals — LL (Mlsna 2, Miller 1, Yahnke 1) 4; MF (O. Fischer 2, Baker 2, Patti 1, Johnson 1, Hill 1, Frye 1) 8.
Total fouls — LL 12, MF 19.
