Home Win Streak Ends

For the first time since the 2009-2010 season the UW-Fox men experienced a loss in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.  The Cyclones home win streak ends at 51 or 52 games (there last loss was a decision to Fox Valley Technical College in which they were the visitor - FVTC does not have a gym, but has a basketball team).  UW-Fox had won all their home games during the 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 seasons. 

The Cyclones jumped out to a 35-25 halftime lead, but were outscored decisively (16-34) in the second half by the visiting Lakeland College varsity reserve squad en route to the 51-59 loss.  Stan Mckenzie scored 19 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Muskies to victory.  He  also dominated defensively in the second half recording 3 steals and forcing numerous Cyclone turnovers.

UW-Fox shot just 9% for the game on three-point field goals, and only 32% overall.  Trevor Krizenesky led the Cyclones with 13 points.  He was the only UW-Fox player in double figures.

The loss drops UW-Fox to 5-2 overall.  They will return to action on December 2nd when they host UW-Marshfield.  Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30pm.

UW-Fox Posts WCC-East Road Win

The UW-Fox men’s basketball team defeated UW-Marinette 66-52 in WCC-East play on Monday night.  It was the Cyclones first win in Marinette since 2011 when their 79-68 win clinched the first of three WCC-East championships.  UW-Fox had lost their last two games in Marinette by a combined 7 points. 

The Cyclones jumped out to a 38-29 lead as Jon Schlaver and Cameron Schaefer combined to score 24 first half points.  It also received quality play off the bench from freshmen Wesley Krauss and Seth Wallace.  Wallace scored 4 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in 5 minutes of work.

In the second half the Cyclones could never quite put the Buccaneers away due mostly to their own offensive woes.  However, back to back lay-ups by Trevor Krizenesky, and a Chase Hawley basket in the final 4 minutes sealed the UW-Fox victory. 

Krizenesky led the Cyclones with 16 points, while Schaefer and Schlaver finished with 15 and 13 respectively.  Krizenesky also led the Cyclones with 8 rebounds, while Schlaver and Schaefer each pulled down 6.

After a 48 foul and 54 free-throw game on Saturday, the two teams combined for just 15 free-throws and 21 fouls.  UW-Fox held the Buccaneers to 37% shooting for the game, despite allowing them to knock down 7 of their 14 three-point attempts.  The Cyclones also forced 16 UW-Marinette turnovers.

With the win UW-Fox moves to 5-1 overall, 4-0 in the WCC-East.  They will return to action on Saturday when they host the Lakeland College JV team.  Tip-off is set for 2pm in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.  The Cyclones have not played an NCAA DIII opponent in over ten years.

UW-Fox Win Streak Ends

Playing on the court where they captured the 2013 WCC tournament championship in convincing fashion, the UW-Fox men’s basketball team fell to UW-Marathon 62-67 in a non-conference basketball game on Saturday afternoon in Wausau.  With the loss the Cyclones 21 game winning streak, dating back to last December, came to an end. 

The Cyclones were their own worst enemy against the Huskies.  UW-Fox shot just 33% for the game, missed lay-ups, missed free-throws, had careless turnovers at critical moments, and gave up 24 offensive rebounds.  The Cyclones forced 19 Husky turnovers and held them to just 2/14 shooting (14%) from 3-point range.  It was the Cyclones worst performance since a loss in late November of 2012 at UW-Marshfield.

The lone bright spot for UW-Fox was the play of 2nd year guard Cameron Schaefer.  The Sheboygan North grad almost single-handedly willed the Cyclones to victory with his performance.  He scored 23 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, recorded 4 assists, 4 steals, and 12 deflections.

Schaefer’s defense early in the second half was the catalyst that helped UW-Fox turn a 30-34 halftime deficit into a 44-40 lead with 13:32 remaining.  From there the game would seesaw back and forth.  The Cyclones led 53-52 with 4:27 left in the game, but their inability to score near the basket, and make free-throws, proved costly over the last 6 minutes of the game.

The loss drops the Cyclones to 4-1 overall on the season.  They will return to action on Monday night when they travel to UW-Marinette for a WCC-East game with the Buccaneers.  Tip-off is set for 7:30pm.

Cyclone Win Is Number 200 For Rabas

UW-Fox defeated UW-Waukesha 89-81 on Wednesday night in a hard fought game between the WCC-East rivals.  The two programs have combined to win the last 4 WCC tournament championships.  The teams combined for just 17 turnovers, and each shot over 50%, in a clean and competitive junior college basketball game.

The Cougars used a 5-0 run in the last minute of the half to close a double digit UW-Fox lead to 43-35.  Cameron Schaefer and Sam Schreiber led the Cyclones in the opening half with 14 and 10 points respectively.

In the second half UW-Fox quickly pushed the lead to double digits behind some inspired post play from Jon Schlaver.  The 6-8 center scored 10 points in the opening minutes of the half, but was forced to spend much of the half on the bench with foul trouble before fouling out with just under 6 minutes to play. 

UW-Waukesha fought their way back on the strength of post player Traivione Hills and guard Brandon St. George.  The two were nearly unstoppable in stretches of the second half.  A three point basket by St. George pushed the Cougars to a 69-63 lead with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. 

Schaefer's deep three-point field goal from the right corner off a Trevor Krizenesky assist ignited a UW-Fox rally that would see the Cyclones take the lead for good a few minutes later on a Krizenesky free-throw.  On the very next possession Schaefer turned a steal into an easy bucket to push the Cyclones out to a 3 point lead.

Freshmen Marcus Jensen and Nick Mohl would come up huge in the last 4 minutes for the Cyclones.  Mohl caught a Krizenesky pass in transition and converted an old-fashioned 3 point play before nailing a jumper at the end of the shot clock a minute later.  Jensen grabbed 3 late defensive rebounds and had a 3 point play of his own off an offensive rebound.  Krizenesky sealed the game with a deep three with :18 seconds left that gave UW-Fox an 87-81 lead.

Hills finished with 21 points and St. George with 19 to lead the Cougars.  Schaefer had 21 points and Krizenesky 20 to lead UW-Fox.  Schreiber finished with 15 points and Schlaver 14 to aid the Cyclone attack.  Jensen grabbed 8 rebounds.

The win was number 200 for UW-Fox head coach Lee Rabas.  He previously was 103-56 in 7 seasons as the head boys basketball coach at Xavier High School.  His career record currently stands at 200-69 as a head coach.

With the win the Cyclones move to 4-0 (3-0) on the season.  The Cyclones will travel to Wausau on Saturday for a non-conference game with WCC-West power UW-Marathon.  Tip-off is set for 3pm.

UW-Fox Outlasts UW-Washington

The UW-Fox men’s basketball team recorded a 75-57 victory over UW-Washington on Monday night in a WCC-East match-up.  The Cyclones labored offensively for most of the first half in a game that was their home opener.

Seth Wallace came off the bench to hit a 3-point field goal from the deep left corner that gave the Cyclones a 19-16 lead.  It was a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the game.  Wallace sparked the Cyclones off the bench in the opening half by scoring 6 points and grabbing 3 offensive rebounds to help UW-Fox to a 33-25 halftime lead.  UW-Fox shot a season low 26% from three-point range in the opening half. 

Trevor Krizenesky initiated an early second half run with his tenacious on ball defense.  The Cyclones used some early Wildcat turnovers to quickly push the lead to double digits and would maintain that lead throughout the second half.  UW-Fox also improved its ball movement in the second half against the Wildcats pesky zone defense, and that allowed the Cyclones to shoot 52% in the second half, compared to just 30% in the first half.
 
Krizenesky led the Cyclones with 20 points and Cameron Schaefer chipped in with 17.  Sam Schreiber recorded 9 points and 5 rebounds for the Cyclones, while Wallace also finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds off the bench.
 
With the win UW-Fox moves to 3-0 (2-0) on the season.  They return to action on Wednesday night when they host WCC-East rival UW-Waukesha at 7:30pm.  The Cougars are led by first year coach Adam Ligocki.

Cyclones Earn Another Road Victory

The UW-Fox men’s basketball team earned a 79-50 non-conference road victory over UW-Richland on Friday night.  Leading 40-27 at half-time the Cyclones would not allow the Road Runners to get any closer. 

In the opening half UW-Fox made 6 of their 13 three-point field goal attempts, good for 46%.  Trevor Krizenesky and Chase Hawley paced the Cyclones in the first half with 10 and 8 points respectively.

For the game the Cyclones held UW-Richland to just 33% (20/61) shooting from the field and just 20% (3/15) on three-point field goals.  They also forced 18 second half Road Runner turnovers, 28 total for the game.

UW-Fox shot over 48% (29/60) for the game.  The Cyclones had seven players score 6 or more points, three in double figures.  Krizenesky led the way with 14 points and 5 assists, while Hawley and Jon Schlaver finished with 11 points. 

The Cyclones are now 2-0 overall on the young season.  They will return to action on Monday November 11th when they host UW-Washington in a WCC-East game at 7pm.

UW-Fox Opens With Road Win

The UW-Fox men’s basketball team opened the 2013-2014 campaign with a 66-29 road victory over UW-Sheboygan.  The game was the season and conference opener for the Cyclones who start the season off 1-0 overall and in the WCC-East.

Jon Schlaver’s 3-point play with 7:28 left in the first half gave UW-Fox a 27-9 lead.  However, the Wombats outscored the Cyclones 12-8 over the next 7 minutes to make the halftime score 35-21.  The Cyclones struggled finishing around the basket in the opening half, which saw Schlaver make all of his field goal attempts to pace the Cyclones with 9 points.

In the second half the Cyclones slowly pulled away.  Although their struggles continued on offense, they were able to hold UW-Sheboygan to 8 second half points and 24% field goal shooting for the game.

Trevor Krizenesky’s back to back baskets with just over 6 minutes remaining pushed the Cyclone lead to 53-27.  Krizenesky paced the Cyclones with 19 points.  Seth Wallace hit a three-point field goal to give UW-Fox their biggest lead at 61-27.

Cameron Schaefer finished with 13 points, while Schlaver added 7 rebounds.  Chase Hawley recorded 2 charges taken, and the Cyclones outrebounded the Wombats 46-37. 

UW-Fox travels to UW-Richland for a non-conference game on Friday night.  Tip-off against the Road Runners is set for 7:30pm.

2013-2014 UW-Fox Men's Basketball Season Outlook

The UW-Fox men’s basketball team begins the 2013-14 season as the reigning Wisconsin Collegiate Conference (WCC) champions.  The Cyclones defeated UW-Manitowoc 79-49 to win the 2013 WCC tournament title.  They finished the 2012-13 season with a 23-3 record, including a 17-game winning streak after starting the season 6-3.

Along with the tournament championship the UW-Fox men won their third straight WCC-East conference title.  The Cyclone men have posted a 42-6 WCC-East record over the past four seasons.  UW-Fox also won the 2011 WCC tournament championship when they posted a 26-1 overall record.

The Cyclone men will have to replace several key contributors from the 2012-13 season including starters Trevor Smith, Jordan Kaufman, and Jon Braeger.  Braeger was the Cyclones leading scorer in 2012-13 and was named the WCC-East player of the year.  Kaufman was a dynamic defensive player and capable scorer whose competitiveness will be hard to replace.    Smith was the team’s leader in 2012-13 and a fantastic team player who recorded a 45-6 overall record during his two seasons with the Cyclones.  He was named honorable mention all-conference for his efforts in 2012-13, and is currently a practice player for Division 1 Campbell University in North Carolina.

Also departed is key reserve DJ Rhodes.  Rhodes joined the Cyclones midway through the season and gave the Cyclones a huge boost on the offensive end with his ability to shoot, score, and create offense for others.  He also possessed a high basketball IQ and was a dependable late game free-throw shooter.

Despite the key losses UW-Fox returns the most second year players since head coach Lee Rabas took over the program in 2009-2010.  Leading the way is the backcourt tandem of Trevor Krizenesky and Cameron Schaefer.  Krizenesky led the Cyclones in minutes played and assists.  He also was their 3rd leading scorer at almost 12 ppg.  Schaefer gave UW-Fox a capable defender and rebounder.  His ability to come up with hustle plays was key to their 2012-2013 success.  He and Krizenesky will be called upon to provide defense and leadership to the 2013-2014 squad.

Sam Schreiber, Matt Lehner, and Joe Perez also return to the UW-Fox line-up.  Schreiber started all but one game a season ago.  Because of added depth up front he will be able to play his more natural position as a wing player.  His athleticism and potential as a defender and rebounder will be key to the Cyclones in 2013-14.  Lehner came off the bench last season and led UW-Fox in offensive rebounds and free-throw shooting percentage.  Perez provides the Cyclones with solid defense and a mature presence on the floor.

Other returners include Matt Wojtowicz, Eric Vandehey, Lawsen Swick, and Jon Schlaver.  Wojtowicz, Vandehey, and Swick provide solid depth and intangibles coming off the bench.  Schlaver joined UW-Fox after their 6-3 start and was a key contributor off the bench as they put together their 17-game winning streak to end the season.

UW-Fox also welcomes newcomers Wesley Krauss (Manawa), Chase Hawley (Little Chute), Riley Van Asten (Shiocton), Nick Mohl (Menasha), Brett Stoeger (Hortonville), Seth Wallace (Menasha St. Mary’s Central), Marcus Jensen (Amherst), Tanner Vander Zanden (Kimberly), Nathan Tegrootenhuis (Winneconne), and Devonte Pointer (Oneida Nation).  All ten will provide needed depth and competitiveness to a UW-Fox program that will have to overcome its lack of size and athleticism if it wants to continue its recent success in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference.