Whitehall boys drop two in DC play


            Mason Pientok of Whitehall looked for a shot in the post during their game against Alma Center Lincoln last Tuesday.  (Times photograph by Andrew Dannehy)

After beginning the week with a two-game lead in the Dairyland Conference Large Division race and a chance to make a statement, the Whitehall boys basketball team lost two road games and fell into a first-place tie.

The Norse had a two-possession lead in the second half against Alma Center Lincoln last week Tuesday, but the Hornets rallied and came away with a 52-50 win. The big blow came on Friday as Melrose-Mindoro handed Whitehall a 72-53 loss, putting both teams at 7-4 in conference play (no further information from that game was reported prior to press time).

After a nonconference game at Cadott on Monday of this week, Whitehall (10-8 on the season) plays at Blair-Taylor on Thursday with a rematch against ACL at home on Friday. The Norse will likely need to win out in order to have a chance to tie for the DC title as Mel-Min’s final DC games are against teams near the bottom of the standings. Whitehall’s last DC game will come next Friday at home against Augusta. 

ACL 52 Whitehall 50

Whitehall was ahead for most of the second half, but faltered late against one of the DC-Small’s top teams.

After trailing by a point at halftime, Whitehall took the lead early in the second half and was ahead by seven midway through the final frame. The Hornets started buzzing defensively, however as a steal and fastbreak pulled the team within two with about eight minutes left.

Whitehall had a two-point lead and the ball with 2:30 remaining, but ACL got a steal in the backcourt and a layup to tie the game at 47.

The Hornets went on to take the lead at 52-50 with about five seconds left. Whitehall’s Seth Lambeck pushed the ball up the court, but bumped into teammate Brayden Lisowski before his shot at the buzzer was blocked. 

It looked like the Hornets were going to control the game early as the team had a seven-point lead in the first half, but Whitehall stormed back with a 10-2 run. The Hornets made two free throws in the final minute to take a 27-26 lead into halftime.

Jace Paul scored 20 points to lead the Hornets.

Individual statistics for Whitehall were not made available before press time. 

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