Monday, January 28, 2013

Cyclones Beat UW-Waukesha

(Menasha) Jon Schlaver and Jon Braeger led four Cylcones in double figures with 15 and 14 points respectively as the UW-Fox men’s basketball team played its best game of the year in defeating UW-Waukesha 63-44.  The Cyclones honored retiring UW-Waukesha head Coach Neal Nelson before the game.  Nelson has guided the Cougar program for 30 years and his 530-196 record earned him a spot in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall-of-Fame this past October.

The Cyclones jumped out to a 33-24 halftime lead on the strength of their quickness and swarming defense, which forced 11 Cougar turnovers.  Schlaver scored 10 first half points and was the recipient of several Trevor Krizenesky assists, who himself had 7 first half points.

In the second half UW-Waukesha closed to within 50-42 on a 3-point basket by Brandon St. George, but the Cyclones responded with a 13-2 run to finish the game.  DJ Rhodes hit a 3-point field goal as the shot clock wound down and Jordan Kaufman hit a driving lay-up in transition to put the Cyclones up 56-42.

Krizenesky finished with 11 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals.  Rhodes finished with 10 points and led UW-Fox with 6 rebounds.  Kaufman recorded 5 assists and 3 steals, while Trevor Smith collected 5 rebounds and also had 3 assists.

UW-Fox moves to 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the WCC-East.  UW-Waukesha drops to 10-5, 5-4.  The Cyclones are back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to UW-Sheboygan for a 7pm tip-off against the Wombats.

Friday, January 25, 2013

UW-Fox Defeats Foxes

(Menasha) The UW-Fox men’s basketball team defeated Fox Valley Technical College 81-62 on Friday night.  The Cyclones would lead from start to finish after jumping out to a 6-0 lead on back to back 3-point field goals by Trevor Krizenesky and Sam Schreiber. 

The Cyclones held a 44-22 halftime lead.  They connected on 8 of their 14 first half three-point field goal attempts, and converted several steals into easy baskets.

In the second half Fox Valley Technical College used an aggressive 1-3-1 defense to disrupt the Cyclones offense and cut the lead to 61-49.  Jon Braeger ended the run with a 3-point field goal, and the Cyclones settled down the rest of the way.  They shot 86.7% from the free-throw line for the game, including 11 for 13 in the second half.  

Jon Braeger and DJ Rhodes paced UW-Fox with 19 points each, while Schreiber finished with 11.  Braeger also recorded 4 assists and 4 steals.  Joe Perez provided a lift to the Cyclones in the second half with several offensive rebounds and hustle plays.

Josh Rieth and Darius Banks led Fox Valley Technical College in scoring with 22 and 15 points respectively.  The Foxes fall to 7-16 on the season. 

The Cyclones record moves to 13-3 (5-2).  They return to action on Monday night at 7:30pm when they host UW-Waukesha in a key WCC-East match-up.  Monday will be  longtime UW-Waukesha Coach Neal Nelson’s final trip to UW-Fox.  The dean of WCC coaches is retiring after leading the Cougar men’s basketball program for 30 years.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Late Rally Lifts Cyclones Over UW-Marinette

(Menasha) The UW-Fox men’s basketball team overcame a 5 point deficit in the final 3:20 seconds of their WCC-East match-up with UW-Marinette to post a 74-68 victory.  Trevor Krizenesky capped off a big second half by connecting on two drives to the basket in the final stretch.  The last one, a runner off the glass, gave the Cyclones their first lead since the opening half at 69-68.   

UW-Fox clamped down defensively in the final two minutes to help secure the win.  DJ Rhodes and Trevor Smith teamed up to hit 4 consecutive free-throws to close out the scoring for the Cyclones.  The final two were set up by a Jon Schlaver steal with :13 seconds remaining.

Rhodes led the Cyclones with 22 points.  Schlaver and Jordan Kaufman had 12 points, and Krizenesky 10 for UW-Fox.  Rhodes connected on 9 of 11 free-throws, Schlaver pulled down 14 rebounds, Kaufman had 5 steals, and Smith recorded 4 assists to go along with 5 steals. 

UW-Fox forced 27 Buccaneer turnovers, but struggled to convert them into points.  UW-Marinette shot better than 58% for the game.  They were led in scoring by Jonte Wells and Josh Corry who recorded 18 and 17 points respectively.

The Cyclone men improve to 12-3 overall, 5-2 in the WCC-East.  They will play host to Fox Valley Technical College on Friday night.  Tip-off at the UW-Fox Fieldhouse is set for 7pm.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Cyclones Down UW-Richland

(Richland Center) UW-Fox raced out to a 44-32 halftime lead on Saturday, but had to hold off a Road Runner rally midway through the second half to post an 86-65 win at UW-Richland.  Poor shot selection and turnovers allowed UW-Richland to cut the lead to 5 points.   However, the Cyclones responded with a run, keyed by the play of Jordan Kaufman and Trevor Smith, that would push the lead back to double digits.

The Cyclones buried 9 first half three-point field goals to jump out to the halftime lead.  DJ Rhodes scored 14 of his game high 19 points in the opening half and Jon Schlaver also had 8 first half points for UW-Fox.

For the game Schlaver and Kaufman scored 14 points each for UW-Fox, while Smith also finished in double figures with 13.  Matt Lehner connected on all 4 of his free-throw attempts down the stretch to help seal the win.

With the win UW-Fox improves its record to 11-3 overall.  The regular season sweep of UW-Richland avenges two UW-Fox losses from last season when they finished the year 22-3.  The Road Runners beat the Cyclones at UW-Richland by 4 points and in the WCC Tournament semi-finals by 3 points in 2011-2012.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

UW-Fox Prevails Over UW-Marshfield

(Menasha) Trevor Krizenesky scored 15 points, and Jon Braeger 13, to lead UW-Fox to an 80-66 win over UW-Marshfield.  The Cyclones made 14 of their 31 three-point field goal attempts in the contest, and held the much bigger UW-Marshfield team to just 7 offensive rebounds.

Despite the strong shooting from beyond the arc UW-Fox struggled to find a rhythm offensively and committed 20 turnovers.  They also allowed the visiting Marauders to shoot almost 57% for the game.

Sam Schreiber chipped in with 11 points, and Cameron Schaefer 10, for the Cyclones.  Jordan Kaufman had 5 assists and 5 steals for UW-Fox, while Braeger handed out 4 assists and recorded 4 steals.

UW-Fox is now 10-3 on the season.  They travel to UW-Richland on Saturday for a 3pm tip-off against the Road Runners.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Late Game Run Lifts Cyclones

(Menasha)  The UW-Fox men’s basketball team found themselves down 47-54 with just over 7 minutes remaining in their match-up with UW-Rock on Wednesday night.  Jon Braeger’s three-point field goal served as the catalyst for an 18-3 run the Cyclones would use to finish out the game on their way to a 65-57 come from behind victory over the Rattlers. 

In a game of momentum and runs the Cyclones had a pair of 9 point leads in the first half.  They led 21-12 midway through the first half, but some listless play on both offense and defense, and a careless turnover at the end of the half had them down 28-31.  The Rattlers hit on 50% of their field goal attempts in the opening half, while the Cyclones struggled shooting only 38%.

UW-Rock led the entire second half, but the lead never grew to more than 7 points.  With the Cyclones down 52-54 Braeger hit another three-point field goal to finally give the Cyclones back the lead at 55-54.  It was a lead they would not relinquish.  

Braeger finished with a game high 33 points.  Matt Lehner and Jon Schlaver each chipped in with 9 points.  Jordan Kaufman had 7 points to go along with a season high 8 steals and 10 deflections.  The Cyclones forced 24 Rattler turnovers.

UW-Fox is now 9-3 on the season.  They will host UW-Marshfield on Wednesday January 16th.  Tip-off is set for 7:30pm in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.