Pacelli Ends Season with Honors, Rutta Stepping Down
Pacelli boys’ basketball had a tough season.
Finishing the season with a record of 11-12 record, including an 8-6 mark in the Central Wisconsin 8 Conference, the Cardinals finished fourth. Early on in the season the team was plagued with injuries, initially dashing hopes as they played through a difficult non-conference schedule with a tough (1-8) start.
But two wins at the 43rd annual Sentry Classic launched the Cardinals into a six-game win streak that proved the competitive capabilities of the squad and its exceptional scorer, James Gollon.
Recently named Player of the Year in the Central Wisconsin 8 Conference, Gollon was also named All-Conference along with teammate and fellow senior Colin Jamison, who earned Honorable Mention status. Also completing their high school careers as seniors were Troy Fluguar and Patrick Rath.
Gollon scored over 1,100 points during his high school career, topping out with a 30.7 points per game average this year. His efforts included a 49-point burst in a 70-52 win over Manawa and 21 of the 32 fourth quarter Pacelli points in a memorable fourth quarter comeback 55-54 win over Elk Mound.
Coach Brad Rutta said the year was bittersweet, as he made the decision to step down from active coaching at season’s end.
“It was a rare opportunity to be around that type of talent,” Rutta said of Gollon. “We were blessed to have him as a leader. He’s an unbelievable player and an even better person.”
Earlier in the season Gollon committed to the Ohio University Bobcats this fall.
“Every kid had fun this season,” Rutta added. “The group of individuals accepted their roles to make the team the best it could be and strongly believed in one another as evidenced by some of the later season successes.”