Last year, when things got testy for Port Washington’s boys basketball team, everyone knew senior standout Josh Gasser would right the ship.
But with Gasser at the University of Wisconsin and Port down 16-10 early in the second quarter Friday to a surprising Cedarburg team it already had beat twice in season play, those in attendance were wondering who would step up for the Pirates.
The answer: everybody.
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In a true team effort, Port Washington won their first playoff game against conference foe Cedarburg, 46-31.
“I was pretty happy with our guys as far as how they responded,” Port Washington head coach John Bunyan said. “After the first quarter, we kept them in check defensively, so I was happy.
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“Any other night, there are about five different guys that have scored over 15 or 16 points from our team at one given time, especially over the last four games. That’s good. It’s real good balance, especially at this time heading into the playoffs.”
After having already dropped both regular season games to the Pirates, Cedarburg (7-17 overall, 2-12 North Shore Conference) tried to gain momentum early by driving to the basket and forcing the action.
That worked early, as sophomore guard Matt Johnson scored 11 of his team’s 13 first-quarter points to take a 13-10 lead after one.
Bulldog senior Jake Borgardt hit a three on the first possession of the second quarter to stretch the lead to six, but it was all Port (11-11 overall, 7-7 NSC) from there on out.
Senior Shane Kennedy started the run for the Pirates, netting back-to-back lay-ups to bring the game within two. Then it was junior Sawyer Mosley’s turn as the 6’1” guard hit a runner in the lane, a free throw, and a three from the corner to close out the half and give the Pirates a 20-16 lead at the break.
“They (Port) really picked up their pressure (in the second quarter),” Cedarburg head coach Travis Moulton said. “I think they kind of let us do a little more in the first, and then they started pressuring us a little more, getting us kind of uncomfortable with it.”
After Borgardt’s three, the Bulldogs didn’t score again until 4:49 was left in the third quarter, and by then Port had taken control of the game.
Cedarburg made a little run and attempted somewhat of a comeback early in the fourth after another Borgardt three, but Port junior Kyle Rismeyer answered with a three of his own. Port senior Joey McIlree followed that up with a free throw and sophomore Joey Burbach had a breakaway lay-up to reopen the lead to 12 and squash any hopes of a comeback.
“We don’t have a true point guard,” Moulton said. “We’ve kind of done point guard by committee, and I think if we had a true point guard, that could settle us down a little bit.”
Kennedy led the way for the Pirates with 13, while Burbach finished with 11.
Only three players scored for the Bulldogs all night, with Johnson leading the way with 14.
Port advances to play No. 1 seed Plymouth, as the Panthers knocked off West Bend West Friday night, 68-52.
Box score:
Cedarburg: Borgardt 2 3-7 13, Fischer 1 2-3 4, Johnson 3 8-13 14.
Port Washington: Burbach 4 0-0 11, Graf 0 2-2 2, Kennedy 6 1-3 13, McIlree 1 3-4 5, Mosley 1 3-4 8, Rismeyer 0 2-2 5, Schueller 0 3-4 6
Three-pointers: Cedarburg - Borgardt (2). Port Washington – Burbach, Mosley, Rismeyer, Schueller.
