Game Report: West De Pere vs. Bay Port

<p>The Bay Port Pirates went on the road to battle against new Fox River Classic member [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] on Tuesday Night. Coming into the game [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] touted a 5-1 conference record while Bay Port was 4-2. The Phantoms led a majority of this game to improve to 9-1 overall while Bay Port fell to 8-3 overall.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Game Summary</h2>   <p>Both teams have had highly successful seasons coming into the game. Early in the game both squads were locked in on the defensive end leading to long grinding possessions keeping the score relatively low going into half with the Phantoms leading 34-20. [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] , outside of a few runs in the second half, never let the game get to single digits using stout on ball defense and taking highly efficient shots from the perimeter on kick out drives and finishing at the rim. WDP deploys a 5 out system in which their bigger athletes chase dribble hand-offs and ball screens while maintaining perimeter spacing. Bay Port did not have an answer for [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere']'s outstanding outside shooting in this contest. Bay Port was able to create advantage of flat ball screens and high post entries, but it was not enough to overcome the balance and plethora of scorers that [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] puts out on the floor. [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] won the first of two battles between the teams, 68-51.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Standouts</h2>    <p class="text-gray-700">Samson was very impressive for the Phantoms on both sides of the basketball on Tuesday. Samson, is a twitchy and shifty guard that found different ways to score and playmake on Tuesday night. Carson was able to stuff the stat sheet and finished the game with 15 points. Samson demonstrated his versatile offensive skill set knocking down three threes and finishing through contact around the basket with his quick first step and overall added strength in the offseason. The 6-0 junior rarely makes mistakes on the floor and plays spectacular on ball defense against tough matchups. Samson came into this game averaging 14.1ppg, and is loudly demonstrating his case to be a first team all conference player in the FRCC.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Wilichowski has grown in the past year and has really improved his skill set since last season. The 6'7 Junior drew the assignment of guarding a bigger [player_tooltip player_id='2824735' first='JT' last='Meyer'] on Tuesday night and was able to match the size of Meyer through disciplined positioning and toughness. On the other end, Wilichowski showed the ability to play inside and out going 5 of 5 from the FT line, hitting a 3, and finishing through contact on post moves and dump offs of dribble drive penetration. Wilichowski will be key for the Phantoms as they get deeper in their quest for winning the FRCC. The 6'7 junior is 12 points a game and is one of the most improved players for [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere']. </p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Bouchard is one of the many terrific outside shooters for [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere']. He is an absoulte sniper for the Phantoms, shooting nearly 52% from 3. Tuesday night was no different for Bouchard, who canned five threes behind the arc and finished the game with 17 points to lead WDP. Bouchard also impressed on the defensive end guarding talented senior [player_tooltip player_id='2384772' first='AJ' last='Ivy'] and limiting to him to tough contested jumpshots. Bouchard is another player that has tremendously improved since last season and is capitalizing in a bigger role this season.</p>     <p class="text-gray-700">Meyer, who moved to Bay Port due to a family move, was a bright spot for the 8-3 Pirate squad. Meyer who is long, athletic, and physical made his presence inside known for Bay Port showing his capability to make face up post moves, back to the basket post moves, and stretch the defense making two threes in this game. Meyer who competes with [program_tooltip program_id='2139004' first='Team' last='Haliburton'], has a lot of upside with his size and skill set. JT is averaging just over 12 points per game and had 12 in this game scoring in a variety of ways.</p>    <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Big Picture</h2>   <p>[program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'], who won the Bay Conference title less than a year ago, has propelled themselves into the drivers' seat to contend for the Fox River Classic Conference this year. WDP is tied with longtime powerhouse De Pere a top of the highly competitive and talented conference. [program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere'] snapped De Pere's conference winning streak, ending it at 66 and are playing fantastic basketball this season. The Phantoms hit 13 threes and had four players ([player_tooltip player_id='2140897' first='Carson' last='Samson'], Patrick Geisen, [player_tooltip player_id='2851973' first='Erik' last='Bouchard'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2381929' first='Jack' last='Wilichowski']) reach double figures. To round out their starting lineup, 6'4 junior [player_tooltip player_id='2399057' first='Cooper' last='Borowicz'] can also get 20 on any given night while facilitating downhill offense and playing lockdown in your face defense. The Phantoms have not missed a beat despite losing big man [player_tooltip player_id='2140983' first='Tref' last='Rademaker'] in the offseason (transferred to DME Academy). WDP has multiple scoring weapons and is poised to not only contend for the conference championship, but make a deep playoff run in March. </p>   <p>Bay Port who dropped to a very respectable 8-3, have a big trio of their own with [player_tooltip player_id='2384772' first='AJ' last='Ivy'] (17.1ppg), [player_tooltip player_id='2824735' first='JT' last='Meyer'] (12.1ppg), and [player_tooltip player_id='2092138' first='Sawyer' last='Durkee'] (10.1ppg). The Pirates are very senior dominated have the capability to beat anyone on any given night earning impressive victories over SPASH and Sheboygan North so far this season. Bay Port is hoping to get back [player_tooltip player_id='2423293' first='JJ' last='Meyer'] (6-10 Sr.) who suffered an injury this off-season that has held him out all of their games so far. The Pirates size and athleticism will create headaches for opposing coaches and should be a highly seeded team in Division 1 in the playoffs.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Box Score</h2>   <p><strong>[program_tooltip program_id='2829078' first='West' last='De Pere']- 68: </strong>Samson 15, Greisen 14, Borowicz 6, Bouchard 17, Wilichowski 14, Wolut 3</p>   <p><strong>Bay Port- 51: </strong>Jones 2, Stevens 4, Durkee 5, Finlan 6, Ivy 14, Otradovec 2, Meyer 12, Hudak 1</p>   <p></p>

The Bay Port Pirates went on the road to battle against new Fox River Classic member West De Pere on Tuesday Night. Coming into the game West De Pere touted a 5-1 conference record while Bay Port was 4-2. The Phantoms led a majority of this game to improve to 9-1 overall while Bay Port fell to 8-3 overall.