G-E-T boys move to 3-0 with wins over C-FC, Logan

Coming into the season, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School boys basketball coach Jared McCutchen wasn’t sure what to expect. 

Now three games — and three wins — into the year, McCutchen said his team is proving itself. The Red Hawks beat Cochrane-Fountain City 79-68 last Monday before beating Logan 70-51 on Thursday.

“I really had no idea where we’d be because I knew we’d be pretty young. So starting off 3-0 or 0-3, anything was on the table. … I’m happy with 3-0, but we still have a long way to go,” McCutchen said.

Sophomore guard Cody Schmitz has played a key role in the team’s strong start, posting back-to-back games of 39 points against C-FC and Logan after opening the season with a school record 61 points in a win over Sparta two weeks ago.

Schmitz is the first sophomore captain in program history, McCutchen said, and he’s leading the team both on and off the court after his teammates voted him into the leadership spot alongside senior Will Thompson. Schmitz’s coach has noticed a big improvement in the player since his freshman year, especially from distance.

“He’s a really hard guard when he shoots it as well as he has been and is still able to get to the rack as often as he does. So that I think is the biggest difference in his game right now is the way he’s shooting it from three,” McCutchen said.

G-E-T hosts Westby on Friday and will head to Bangor for a game on Monday.

G-E-T 79, C-FC 68 

The visiting Red Hawks worked to a six-point lead at the half before fighting off a late push from the host Pirates in a physical game last Monday.

Schmitz had 12 of the Red Hawks’ 24 field goals and added 14 points from the free throw line. Thompson finished the game four-for-four and had 11 points, tied with junior Will Mack.

McCutchen said Schmitz gets most of the headlines, but G-E-T has seen a better supporting cast this season. Both Mack and Thompson are averaging at least 10 points per game to start the year, and others are helping on defense, too, he said.

“If we can get some contributions from some other guys, we’re going to be tough to beat. So it’s nice to see some of these younger guys taking these steps here early in the season.”

G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — K. Seiling 1/3-0/0-4-1-3, Mack 3/10-3/5-3-4-11, Burns 2/4-/3/4-4-2-8, Thompson 4/4-3/4-9-5-11, Stoner 0/6-0/0-1-4-0, Beedle 2/5-2/2-3-4-7, B. Seiling 0/3-0/0-0-1-0, Schmitz 12/28-14/18-15-4-39.

G-E-T 70, Logan 51

G-E-T extended their win streak to three with a home win over Logan last Thursday, one that saw the Red Hawks again pull away in the second half.

Thompson had 12 points for the Red Hawks.

G-E-T turned a 37-29 halftime lead into a 70-51 win, but McCutchen wants to see his team improve defensively.

“We really would like to force more turnovers. And we’d really like to force more tough shots. The last two games, we kind of had some lapses on the defensive end,” he said.

McCutchen said there is “a lot of energy” in the program right now, and he hopes that continues as the season wears on.

G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) – K. Seiling 0/0-0/0-4-1-0, Mack 4/8-1/2-3-3-10, Burns 0/3-0/0-1-2-0, Thompson 4/5-4/4-7-0-12, Stoner 1/2-0/0-3-1-2, Beedle 2/5-0/0-3-3-5, B. Seiling 1/2-0/0-1-2-2, Schmitz 13/30-8/11-12-1-39.