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Sports

Pirates Play Smart To Beat Grafton

Port boys put together an all-around strong effort and peak at the right time.

Ending their regular season on a high note, the Port Washington Pirates boys basketball team played like a finely tuned guitar Thursday, beating Grafton, 39-27, at home.

Sophomore guard Joey Burbach opened the scoring for Port with a 3-point shot to tie the score at 3-3. Then the Pirates went on a 10-2 run to push the score to 13-5. Burbach finished with 16 points and hit three 3-pointers.

Stellar ball control and a minimum of turnovers allowed the Pirates to control the tempo the entire game.

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“We moved our feet fast and played pretty good,” said Pirates head coach John Bunyan. “I think we did (control the ball). We played some good defense and I wanted my team to be patient."

The first period ended with Port ahead 13-7.

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Port senior Shane Kennedy hit a 3-pointer and Burbach followed shortly afterward to make it 21-7 Pirates.

“We were hitting the threes,” Bunyan said.

Kennedy finished with 7 points, while Joe Mcllree and Sawyer Mosley each had 6 points.

Grafton played with poise and controlled the ball for the most part, and fought back and cut the lead to 10 points, at 21-11, with less than four minutes to go in the half.

With 1:30 to go in the half, Pirate junior Zach Hauser nailed a 10-foot jumper.

The next time down the floor Burbach had his 3-point attempt deflected and Grafton sophomore Scotty  Tyler was fouled on a dunk attempt. He hit one of two free throws to end the half with Port ahead 25-12.

The Pirates increased their lead to 37-18 after the third quarter.

“We had a few travel calls, but overall we did a good job on turnovers," Bunyan said. "We’ve been doing a better job in a lot of aspects of the game, including spreading the ball around." 

The win gives the Pirates a record of 10-11, and evens their conference record at  7-7. 

Grafton falls to 6-16 (2-12) and came into the game after back-to-back wins against Cedarburg and Whitefish Bay.

Thursday night's win comes after a victory against Homestead on Friday, and the Pirates have some real momentum before the WIAA Sectional next month in De Pere.  

Bunyan said his kids are ready.

“They know what’s ahead and how it’s a great opportunity,” he said.

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