Prep Hoops Wisconsin: News/Notes from across the state

A pair of teams that have yet to taste defeat meet on Saturday when Kaukauna travels to Middleton to take on the Cardinals in a big non-conference game set to begin at 6:00 p.m. Kaukauna took a big step forward to another successful season on Tuesday when De Paul recruit [player_tooltip player_id='1561925' first='Andrew' last='Jensen'] (6-10) made a shot as the final horn sounded to give the Ghosts a 50-49 win at Appleton North, the preseason favorite to win the Fox Valley Association title. Jensen turned in a dominating performance in the win over the Lightning, finishing with 20 points and 22 rebounds to go along with the game-winning shot. Sophomore shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='2412456' first='Tyler' last='Schwalbach'] (6-2) also played a big role in the Ghosts' win over Appleton North as he finished with 18 points. Under first-year coach Ryan Bowers, Kaukauna owns wins over the three Appleton public high schools (East, North and West) along with triumphs over Ashwaubenon and Fond du Lac. Meanwhile, Middleton improved to 5-0 on Wednesday evening with an impressive 74-61 road win over Madison La Follette in a Big Eight Conference game. The Cardinals pulled away late in the contest and made some foul shots over the final few minutes to secure the triumph. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1874980' first='John' last='Grimes'] (6-0) and [player_tooltip player_id='2626535' first='Jackson' last='Guerrero'] (6-0) comprise an experienced, skilled and athletic backcourt duo and have led the way for coach Kevin Bavery's squad as Grimes is averaging 16.8 ppg and Guerrero is contributing 16.5 ppg. Prentice making some noise in Marawood Even in a loss, Prentice caught the attention of its competitors in the Marawood Conference last week. Dropping a 70-66 to host Marathon last Friday, Prentice took the highly regarded and state-ranked Red Raiders down to the final minute of the game before coming up just short. Seniors Aidan Hause (6-4) and [player_tooltip player_id='2412829' first='Evan' last='Lord'] (6-2) led the way for Prentice with 21 and 19 points, respectively. That is hardly surprising considering the experience both Hause and Lord bring to the court each time out for coach Adam Blomberg. House, a first-team all-Marawood North pick a year ago, came into the season with 700 career points over the past three seasons. He is averaging 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds as a senior. Lord, a second-team all-league pick as a junior, entered his senior campaign with 1,313 career points in three years. He is averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.0 thus far this season. After the narrow loss to Marathon, Prentice again made some noise in northern Wisconsin by traveling to Rib Lake and handing the Redmen a 71-59 setback on Tuesday. Prentice and Rib Lake are the top two teams in the Marawood North, but Prentice landed the early season blow in the race for the title. Quick Hitters ... Crivitz senior [player_tooltip player_id='2630004' first='Kade' last='Thoma'] (6-6), perhaps the most dominating player in the Marinette & Oconto Conference, surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this week in a win over St. Thomas Aquinas Academy ... Arrowhead junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2351196' first='Blake' last='Basich'] (5-11) set a school record with 14 assists in the Warhawks win over Greenfield last week. Basich currently is averaging 10.0 ppg, 9.0 apg and 4.8 rpg for undefeated Arrowhead ... Impressive showing from Golda Meir's Chris Retic (6-6) in a recent 65-64 win over Milwaukee School of Languages. Retic, a transfer from Kenosha Reuther, scored 28 points, had 17 rebounds and blocked 10 shots in the game ... [player_tooltip player_id='2736852' first='Mohammad' last='Badwan'], a muscular 6-foot-2 junior guard, is off to a torrid start for Salam School. Playing an independent schedule after previously competing in the Lake City Conference, Badwan went for 47 points and made 10 of 17 three-point shots on Monday in the Stars' 95-66 loss to Kenosha Bradford. Badwan is averaging 36.2 ppg through Salam's first five games of the season ... Germantown senior [player_tooltip player_id='2116495' first='Cahlil' last='Jones'] (6-3) missed the first three games of the season, but he made his presence felt once he finally got on the court as he scored 33 points in the Warhawks' 87-59 win over West Allis Hale on Tuesday ... Waukesha West senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2381817' first='Mason' last='LaValle'] (6-3) plans to play basketball next year at Ripon College ... Waterford senior [player_tooltip player_id='2809011' first='Jayce' last='Brechtl'] (6-6) has committed to NCAA Division III Carroll University ... Coach Todd Jahns of Lakeside Lutheran improved to 5-0 in games against his son, Zach, when the Warriors beat Lake Country Lutheran 64-57 on Tuesday. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2025184' first='Wes' last='Rahn'] (6-8) had 27 points and senior [player_tooltip player_id='2500858' first='Brady' last='Wolfram'] (6-3) added a career-best 24 points for Lakeside Lutheran ... Shoreland Lutheran senior guard Owen Ham (6-2) recently went over 1,000 points for his prep career with the Pacers ... Senior [player_tooltip player_id='2836418' first='Damariye' last='Redmond'] (6-0) had 37 points on Tuesday as host Martin Luther handed Racine St. Catherine's an 86-81 setback. St. Catherine's had entered the contest as the state's top-ranked Division 3 team.

A pair of teams that have yet to taste defeat meet on Saturday when Kaukauna travels to Middleton to take on the Cardinals in a big non-conference game set to begin at 6:00 p.m.

Kaukauna took a big step forward to another successful season on Tuesday when De Paul recruit Andrew Jensen Andrew Jensen 6'9" | PF Kaukauna | 2026 State WI (6-10) made a shot as the final horn sounded to give the Ghosts a 50-49 win at Appleton North, the preseason favorite to win the Fox Valley Association title. Jensen turned in a dominating performance in the win over the Lightning, finishing with 20 points and 22 rebounds to go along with the game-winning shot.

Sophomore shooting guard Tyler Schwalbach Tyler Schwalbach 6'3" | PG/SG Kaukauna | 2028 State WI (6-2) also played a big role in the Ghosts' win over Appleton North as he finished with 18 points.

Under first-year coach Ryan Bowers, Kaukauna owns wins over the three Appleton public high schools (East, North and West) along with triumphs over Ashwaubenon and Fond du Lac.

Meanwhile, Middleton improved to 5-0 on Wednesday evening with an impressive 74-61 road win over Madison La Follette in a Big Eight Conference game. The Cardinals pulled away late in the contest and made some foul shots over the final few minutes to secure the triumph.

Seniors John Grimes John Grimes 6'0" | PG Middleton | 2026 WI (6-0) and Jackson Guerrero Jackson Guerrero 6'0" | PG/CG Middleton | 2026 State WI (6-0) comprise an experienced, skilled and athletic backcourt duo and have led the way for coach Kevin Bavery's squad as Grimes is averaging 16.8 ppg and Guerrero is contributing 16.5 ppg.

Prentice making some noise in Marawood

Even in a loss, Prentice caught the attention of its competitors in the Marawood Conference last week.

Dropping a 70-66 to host Marathon last Friday, Prentice took the highly regarded and state-ranked Red Raiders down to the final minute of the game before coming up just short. Seniors Aidan Hause (6-4) and Evan Lord Evan Lord 6'2" | SG Prentice | 2026 State WI (6-2) led the way for Prentice with 21 and 19 points, respectively.

That is hardly surprising considering the experience both Hause and Lord bring to the court each time out for coach Adam Blomberg. House, a first-team all-Marawood North pick a year ago, came into the season with 700 career points over the past three seasons. He is averaging 15.2 points and 4.6 rebounds as a senior. Lord, a second-team all-league pick as a junior, entered his senior campaign with 1,313 career points in three years. He is averaging 15.0 ppg and 5.0 thus far this season.

After the narrow loss to Marathon, Prentice again made some noise in northern Wisconsin by traveling to Rib Lake and handing the Redmen a 71-59 setback on Tuesday. Prentice and Rib Lake are the top two teams in the Marawood North, but Prentice landed the early season blow in the race for the title.

Quick Hitters ... Crivitz senior Kade Thoma Kade Thoma 6'6" | PF Crivitz | 2026 State WI (6-6), perhaps the most dominating player in the Marinette & Oconto Conference, surpassed 1,000 career points earlier this week in a win over St. Thomas Aquinas Academy ... Arrowhead junior point guard Blake Basich Blake Basich 5'10" | PG Arrowhead | 2027 State WI (5-11) set a school record with 14 assists in the Warhawks win over Greenfield last week. Basich currently is averaging 10.0 ppg, 9.0 apg and 4.8 rpg for undefeated Arrowhead ... Impressive showing from Golda Meir's Chris Retic (6-6) in a recent 65-64 win over Milwaukee School of Languages. Retic, a transfer from Kenosha Reuther, scored 28 points, had 17 rebounds and blocked 10 shots in the game ... Mohammad Badwan Mohammad Badwan 6'3" | SF Salam | 2027 State WI , a muscular 6-foot-2 junior guard, is off to a torrid start for Salam School. Playing an independent schedule after previously competing in the Lake City Conference, Badwan went for 47 points and made 10 of 17 three-point shots on Monday in the Stars' 95-66 loss to Kenosha Bradford. Badwan is averaging 36.2 ppg through Salam's first five games of the season ... Germantown senior Cahlil Jones Cahlil Jones 6'3" | SG Germantown | 2026 State WI (6-3) missed the first three games of the season, but he made his presence felt once he finally got on the court as he scored 33 points in the Warhawks' 87-59 win over West Allis Hale on Tuesday ... Waukesha West senior guard Mason LaValle Mason LaValle 6'4" | SG Waukesha West | 2026 State WI (6-3) plans to play basketball next year at Ripon College ... Waterford senior Jayce Brechtl Jayce Brechtl 6'6" | PF/C Waterford | 2026 State WI (6-6) has committed to NCAA Division III Carroll University ... Coach Todd Jahns of Lakeside Lutheran improved to 5-0 in games against his son, Zach, when the Warriors beat Lake Country Lutheran 64-57 on Tuesday. Senior Wes Rahn Wes Rahn 6'8" | PF Lakeside Lutheran | 2026 State WI (6-8) had 27 points and senior Brady Wolfram Brady Wolfram 6'3" | SG Lakeside Lutheran | 2026 State WI (6-3) added a career-best 24 points for Lakeside Lutheran ... Shoreland Lutheran senior guard Owen Ham (6-2) recently went over 1,000 points for his prep career with the Pacers ... Senior Damariye Redmond Damariye Redmond 6'0" | PG/SG Martin Luther | 2026 State WI (6-0) had 37 points on Tuesday as host Martin Luther handed Racine St. Catherine's an 86-81 setback. St. Catherine's had entered the contest as the state's top-ranked Division 3 team.