Junior guard giving Eisenhower third option

New Berlin - Sophomore guard Reed Timmer hit a jump shot with 4.3 seconds left to play and gave New Berlin Eisenhower a thrilling 60-58 victory over visiting Whitnall on Friday and a share of first place in the Woodland Conference Black Division.

Veteran senior forward Keith Kahlfeldt scored 18 points, including eight in the second and third periods to keep the Lions in front after three quarters, 46-42.

But the Lions are starting to make their dynamic duo more of a terrific trio in the past few weeks as 6-foot-1 inch junior guard Sandro Pesquiera is starting to play a bigger role.

Shooting with range

Pesquiera poured in seven long 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 21 points to spark Eisenhower's big victory Friday night.

Ike led after one quarter (16-11) as Pesquiera had nine points. He also scored six points in the third and fourth quarters in a wild and crazy game.

With the Lions trailing 56-55with 46.7 seconds to play, Timmer found a wide-open Pesquiera on the left side and he drilled his final trey of the night to put his team up, 58-56.

"He actually made the shot that I think won the game," Whitnall coach Kent Kroupa said. "He misses that shot, we get the rebound, and it's a whole different thing. He made the three, Timmer made the shot to win."

Eisenhower called timeout with 11 seconds left, worked the ball to Timmer, who coolly sank a jumper from just beyond the free throw line for the winning shot with 4.3 seconds on the clock. A last minute half-court shot by Whitnall banged off the backboard.

"As a coach it's not overly difficult (giving the ball to Timmer)," Eisenhower coach Dave Scheidegger laughed. "It wasn't quite as it was diagrammed, but I won't tell you that. We're just going to say it worked exactly like we drew it up."

Close game all the way

It was a fitting end for a game that went back and forth several times.

Kahlfeldt added eight points and John Crowley six in the second quarter to give the Lions a 30-25 lead at halftime. Whitnall's well-balanced scoring had Michael Bonin and Ian Ray with six each while Stephen Pelkofer and Bryan Nagy had four each.

The Falcons, behind Nagy and Luke Mentkowski, went on a 10-0 run and took a 39-37 lead with 3:27 left in the third quarter. But Ike bounced back and closed out the period on a 9-3 run as Kahlfeldt had six points and Pesquiera a 3-pointer, which gave Ike a 46-42 lead after three quarters.

But the Falcons used a 7-0 run in the final period to take a 52-48 lead with 3:01 left in the game as Pelkofer hit a free throw, Sam Mentkowski and Nagy had baskets and Pelkofer added a basket.

But Timmer hit a basket and Pesquiera a 3-pointer to take a 53-52 lead. The teams then exchanged baskets until Pelkofer's jumper tied the game at 58-58 with 32.1 seconds to play.

"It was a good basketball game; we didn't capitalize when we had the leads," Kroupa said. "That's what we needed to do to win the game. We had two opportunities we had the lead a couple times and we didn't capitalize.

"I expected a tough challenge tonight. There are a lot of equal teams in the league. … Tonight was a lesson to be learned. We will do those things better down the road."

Timmer finished with 11 points and John Crowley had 10, while Nagy had 14, Pelkofer and Ray 11 each and Michael Bonin had 10.

Messages pay off

But it all came back to Pesquiera, who said Scheidegger gave the team cards with an individual message on confidence.

"I put that in my sock and said I'm confident," Pesquiera said. "It a real big win; We have some big momentum now. We started playing like a team now. We have a way better chance at winning conference now. I see our team coming together every day, little by little."

Scheidegger was more down to earth about the win.

"Regardless of how it came out, let's face it, it could have gone either way; both teams played great," Scheidegger said. "I think it was a step forward for us. We helped each other get a little bit better. I think it was a step in the right direction, even if it didn't go (if they lost) the way it did.

"Like most teams you tend to shoot yourself in the foot, but we're doing that a little less now. We're starting to understand when to go and not to go. We're starting to get that feel for what's good for us."

The Lions and Falcons are now 8-2, one game ahead of South Milwaukee (7-3), which was upset by Greendale on Friday night.

Eisenhower travels to Wauwatosa West (2-7, 2-12) on Jan. 27 and then hosts Wilmot (5-6) in a non-conference game on Jan. 31.

EISENHOWER 65, MUSKEGO 56

New Berlin Eisenhower's Keith Kahlfeldt tallied a game-high 26 points, including 18 straight for his team at one stretch, to lead the Lions to a 65-56 victory over Muskego on Jan. 17.

KAHLFELDT'S RUN: The Lions were up 35-23 late in the second quarter when he scored the final basket of the first half. He then posted all 12 of Eisenhower's third-period points, with three baskets and a pair of three-point plays. Kahlfeldt finished his run with two free throws and a basket early in the fourth period.

COACH DAVE SCHEIDEGGER: "Keith has been working real hard inside, trying to get himself in a position where he can score. He's got a variety of moves and he's hard to cover. He's a load, and when he gets it going and he gets in a groove, it's just automatic."

GAME DETAIL: Eisenhower hit 10 of 14 shots in the second quarter for 23 points and a 37-23 halftime lead. The Warriors made a nice run in the third quarter as David Mlachnik scored 11 straight points, including a trio of 3-point field goals, but the Lions were still up 49-42 after three. Muskego came as close as five points several times after that but Sandro Pesquiera hit a big 3-pointer and John Crowley a key last-minute layup to hold off the Warriors.

SCORING: Reed Timmer added 15 points and Pesquiera 11 for the Lions.