By Jacob Mathias

The Pacelli Cardinals varsity boys basketball team fell to the Antigo Red Robins 49-43 in a non-conference game on December 15.

The Cardinals entered the game following a 63-52 win over the Wittenberg-Birnamwood Chargers on December 11. The Cardinals now stand at 2-5 overall and 1-1 in Central Wisconsin – Eight conference play.

Pacelli was down 24-14 at halftime and managed to close the gap before the end of the game but were ultimately unable to come out on top.

“It was a tough game for us tonight as our shots weren’t dropping.  We weren’t finishing very well around the rim,” said Pacelli Head Coach Matt Resch. “Antigo played with a lot of heart and intensity and we struggled to match that level of play.  We had our chances at the end but struggled to convert when we needed to.”

Lead scorers for the Cardinals were senior forward Chris Shibilski with 14 points and senior guard Jake Elliott with 13. Sophomore forward Garret Parks led Pacelli defensively with five rebounds followed by Elliott with four.

Leading for Antigo were Drew Schwarz and Matt Arndt with 15 points each.

The Cardinals next travel to Shiocton on December 18 to take on the Chiefs at 7:30 PM. The then play the Green Bay NEW Lutheran Blazers at UW-Stevens Point on December 27 at 6:00 PM.