After leading big for most of Tuesday night’s tip, Onalaska basketball held off a late surge for the 62-61 win over a ranked East Chambers squad by the lake.
Only a few Wildcats are gone off last year’s state semifinal team. They still sprint up and down the court shooting more threes than anyone else. They still press most of the game and can even come up with a few dunks. They’ve played a schedule that includes Louisiana schools with Division I college prospects, Class 4A schools with the same, and the top-ranked team in Class 2A and 3A.
Onalaska is a basketball power again this season. The Wildcats weren’t perfect on Tuesday, but they didn’t need to be, even against the No. 20 team in the state.
“We came out well in the first quarter. Outside of that, I’m not pleased with the rest of the game that we played,” Onalaska coach Nick Tyerman said. “I feel like we didn’t compete to our standard. It was just poor execution all the way around, and I’m disappointed with that effort, because we’re better than that. I think a lot of it is just that we have to control our emotions and stay calm, because sometimes we get too high, and then we get too low on mistakes, instead of just playing even keel throughout. I’m trying to push them and mentally push them in practice, so that way we can learn to control our composure.”
Rebounds were an issue, and East Chambers compounded the problem with an excellent job of boxing out on each shot. The Wildcats held a double-digit lead through most of the contest, and rebounding kept the Buccaneers close enough, as they had problems shooting.
“That’s probably the best rebounding team we’ve faced all year,” Tyerman said. “They made sure they put a body on somebody, and so we didn’t get rebounds that we normally get on offense or defense. So that’s something that, again, we have to do better. We can’t just let them take it away; we have to keep fighting.”
Without a large post inside, the coach said much of the offense was retooled from last year. The lack of more size has also impacted rebounding.
“The biggest thing is we’re trying to use the mindset of, even if you can’t get position to get the ball, you have to get a tip on it. You have to keep the ball active, keep it moving around. That way, if it stays loose, as long as we’re the most competitive person for it, we’re still going to get it in the end. Even though they may be bigger, we can still find ways to get tips on it from different angles when they’re bringing it down.”
The score probably got a little too close for some Onalaska supporters. The Bucs closed the margin to one point in the final minute. Yet, with momentum against them, Onalaska pulled out a win that perhaps was aided by the playoff experience they finally have.
East Chambers had a couple of chances with just 10 seconds left. Those chances were discussed and strategized plenty through multiple time outs by the visitors. Wyatt Reyes foiled one opportunity by knocking a pass out of bounds. That left just two ticks for the Bucs to get off a shot. Probably not the look they wanted, the final contested baseline attempt from 20 feet out bounced off the back iron, allowing home fans to exhale with their celebration.
“This is one of the toughest schedules we’ve had,” Tyerman said. “Almost every game is against somebody who’s ranked or a playoff team or really good. It’s about getting us ready for making a run in district and playoffs. We’re better than what we showed tonight, and that’s what these games are for. They’re ranked 20th in the state for a reason. They have solid, skilled players. They execute, and we’ve just have to keep getting battle tested by playing against tough teams, because that’s the only way you can prepare. That’s the biggest thing that’s helped us grow and develop the most, is expose what works and what doesn’t on offense and defense.
“Defensively, I feel like we’re in a better spot of rotating on help defense and not getting beat on the drives, just because that was a big struggle we had last year as well. It’s exposing those things, because when you don’t play guys who are good athletes or good ball handlers, you’re not going to get tested to build those habits and see what you need to do.”
Patrick Roth led the ‘Cats in scoring with 19, Devon Vienneau had 15, Spencer Green 13, and Jaden Wyatt 10.
Tyerman said the team generally rotates eight players every game, though minutes vary based on the situation.
“These young guys are getting tested, because most of our depth is sophomores and freshmen. It’s a quick way for them to grow up. They’ll struggle at times, they’re going to make mistakes at times – and that’s fine – because they’re young. That’s why we have to do this, so that way they can be used to it, calm when we get to the playoffs.”
