Comeback bid falls short for G-E-T in third straight loss

In the opening minutes of a nonconference game with visiting Rushford-Peterson on Saturday, the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School boys’ basketball team appeared out of sorts.

Shots weren’t falling, and rebounds were either hitting the floor or quickly being snagged by the visiting Trojans of Minnesota. And while the host Red Hawks did their best to claw back into the game and found a way to take the lead midway through the second half, a last second shot to tie the game from sophomore Cody Schmitz was off the mark as G-E-T dropped its third game of the week.

G-E-T was set to visit West Salem on Tuesday before hosting Arcadia on Thursday and traveling to Tomah on Saturday.

Altoona 75, G-E-T 70

Another comeback effort ran out of steam in a Tuesday loss at Altoona.

The Red Hawks came up with 45 second half points after scoring just 25 in the first half to try to overcome a 15-point deficit to the Railroaders (6-12 this season) at the break.

It ultimately fell short despite a 39-point night and 14 rebounds from Schmitz, who was helped by 11 from sophomore Jack Beedle.

G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points)—Mack 1/5-2/2-7-5-4, Burns 2/6-0/0-4-0-4, Stoner 3/5-0/0-3-1-9, Beedle 4/13-1/1-4-4-11, B. Seiling 1/4-0/0-2-4-3, Schmitz 11/20-13/15-14-4-39.

Westby 67, G-E-T 66

Schmitz scored 28 points and Beedle added 15 as the Red Hawks fell just one point short at Westby last Thursday.

Westby (7-8, 3-3 CC) walked away with the Coulee Conference win behind a torrid second half.

The Red Hawks led by seven at halftime, but the Norse overcame the deficit with a 35-point second half.

G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points)—K. Seiling 0/0-0/0-3-1-0, Mack 3/7-0/0-4-2-7, Burns 1/4-0/0-2-0-2, Stoner 3/6-0/0-1-1-9, Beedle 5/6-0/0-3-3-15, B. Seiling 2/6-0/0-4-3-5, Schmitz 8/13-10/11-6-2-28.

R-P 51, G-E-T 46

A deep Schmitz shot with seconds remaining in the game careened off the basket, and Rushford-Peterson hit a pair of free throws to seal a win for the visitors on Saturday.

After recollecting and talking through the need to get aggressive under each net, G-E-T coach Jared McCutchen thought his team started rebounding well toward the end of the first half on Saturday.

“We boarded better toward the end, and we were able to maintain them to just one shot, long possessions. And if we can play that way, good things will happen for us.”

The Red Hawks rallied and got within two points of their Minnesota foes at halftime. Schmitz gave the Red Hawks their first lead of the night, a 36-34 advantage, with seven minutes remaining on free throws.

But rebounding came back to hurt G-E-T, as Rushford-Peterson pushed the lead to six with just under four minutes left after a Trojan  player snuck behind a Red Hawk defender to grab a rebound and score.

McCutchen thought his team’s youth showed a bit.

“I think they start four or five seniors, and toward the end you could just tell if there’s a ball bouncing around, they were getting it. They were a strong, physical team, and at the end they showed that,” coach McCutchen said.

Beedle put the Red Hawks within one, 46-47, and the home team was forced to foul the Trojans with less than 30 seconds remaining to get a chance with the ball.

A pair of free throws from Andrew Hoiness were successful for the Trojans, and Schmitz was just off on the last second attempt. Schmitz finished with 25 points for G-E-T, and Rushford-Peterson got 30 from Justin Ruberg.

McCutchen said he and the other coaches had last week circled because they knew they were playing physical teams on a tight schedule. Despite the losses, G-E-T’s coach thinks his team got better.

“We’re hoping that gets us ready for the playoffs because playoffs are quick turnaround time,” he said. “So our bodies have to be ready for that, and hopefully that benefits us down the road.

G-E-T (field goals-free throws/attempts-fouls-points)—K. Seiling 0-0/0-1-0, Mack 2-0/0-3-4, Burns 2-0/0-1-6, Stoner 2-0/0-3-6, Beedle 1-0/0-4-2, B. Seiling 1-1/2-3-3, Schmitz 9-7/9-0-25.