Portage County Gazette

By John Kemmeter

Led by the return of a veteran group, the Almond-Bancroft High School boys basketball team is set to contend with the top teams in Division 5 this season.

The sixth-ranked Eagles brought back four starters from last year’s team that finished 18-7, while 6-5 senior guard/forward Cade Lamb is back after he missed almost all of last season due to an injury.

Almond is off to a 7-0 start this season and alone at the top of the Central Wisconsin Conference (CWC) South standings, after it rolled to an 83-43 win on the road over reigning CWC South Champion Pacelli Friday, Dec. 21.

“We play well in flashes and spurts, we’re just trying to find that consistency,” said Almond-Bancroft boys basketball head coach Curt Lamb. “I like all of my kids, they play hard, we’re playing together, and it’s just trying to get better every game.”

Senior guard Zach Bunders was a Second Team All-Central Wisconsin Conference South selection for the Almond-Bancroft High School boys basketball team last season. (John Kemmeter photo)

The Eagles lost forward Derek Baumgartner from last year’s team that fell 56-46 to Wisconsin Rapids Assumption in a WIAA Division 5 Regional Final, but return the rest of their regulars from a year ago.

Senior 6-1 guard Noah Kollock is back for his fourth year as a starter after he was the CWC South Player of the Year and a First Team All-CWC South selection last season, when he scored in double figures in 24 of Almond’s 25 games and averaged 22.8 points per game, on his way to being named Division 5 All-State by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association.

Second Team All-CWC South senior 5-10 guard Zach Bunders and 6-1 senior guard Jon Perrin also return as starters, and are joined in the lineup by fellow senior Cade Lamb.

“Noah’s a very capable scorer, I know that’s an understatement there, but if he goes, we go well,” said coach Lamb. “And it’s nice to have Cade as that second scorer, last year teams would kind of gang up, but with him in there this year, it kind of relaxes everybody, and everybody slides around one more spot and just fits a comfortable role.

“Zach is our sparkplug, he can get in the lane and he can make shots, he makes plays, and he’s just a big-game player also,” he said. “Jon’s got a little more length to him this year, and sometimes I don’t think he realizes how good he can be, but he’s got a lot of ability.”

“It’s very nice having a lot of experience,” said Noah Kollock. “Everyone knows what has to be accomplished, and the big thing is, everyone is playing unselfish too.

“Everyone drives and kicks, and everyone knows that we have to come up from the start, especially on defense,” he said. “Your shots don’t always fall, but you know your defense always has to be there, and that’s what we know and that’s what we take pride in.”

Almond-Bancroft senior guard Jon Perrin looks to make a move during the Eagles’ 83-43 win at Pacelli Friday, Dec. 21. (John Kemmeter photo)

Junior 5-11 guard Elijah Kollock is also back in the starting lineup and is joined in the team’s rotation by 6-1 junior guard Matt Lukas, 6-1 junior forward Gage Meddaugh and 6-1 junior forward Jackson Beggs.

“Elijah’s put in a ton of work this off-season, he’s a little more aggressive, a little stronger, and I’ve got a lot of hope for him too, that he’s going to do big things,” said coach Lamb. “Jackson just plays hard, and he’s got the ability to score the basketball, but we ask him to rebound and play some defense, and he’s very solid in that.

“Matt is very springy, he gave us some good minutes last year at the end of the year, which he’s just building on that, and his potential is unlimited too,” he said. “Gage is solid, he knows where he’s supposed to be, and he’s very good on the defensive end.”

Sophomore 6-2 forward Daniel Baumgartner is currently out with an injury and will look to return to the team’s rotation, while 6-4 junior center Edward Pena, 5-10 senior guard Jake Stuebs, 5-10 junior guard Dylan Omernick and 5-8 junior guard Alex Burns are also battling for playing time.

“We lost Daniel for about six weeks, he had surgery on his hip, so we’re going to have to replace him,” said coach Lamb. “But I’ve got nine guys that are capable of starting this year; we’ve been trying to figure out how that all works together, and that took us a few games to blend that all together.”

Almond-Bancroft junior forward Jackson Beggs brings the ball up the court during the Eagles’ 83-43 win at Pacelli Friday, Dec. 21. (John Kemmeter photo)

The Eagles opened this season with a 62-56 win at Manawa Nov. 26, then followed with lopsided victories over Weyauwega-Fremont (72-38), Rosholt (66-45), Nekoosa (84-49), Pittsville (58-38) and Tri-County (95-52).

That led into a showdown Friday night at Pacelli, which won 66-64 at Almond last year and 61-51 at home over the Eagles on its way to a 10-2 finish in the CWC South, as it claimed the Conference Title over Almond (9-3).

The Eagles came out firing on all cylinders Friday night, as they held an 11-5 lead with 14 minutes to play in the first half, then went on a 17-0 run over the next four minutes to build a 28-5 lead with 9:51 left in the opening half.

Almond went into halftime with a 48-22 lead and kept its foot on the gas in the second half, as it used a 12-3 run to open the second half and build a 60-25 lead with 13:36 to play, and went on to an 83-43 victory.

Cade Lamb shot 8-of-15 from three-point range and finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds, Noah Kollock was 11-of-16 from the field and totaled 27 points and seven rebounds, and Lukas added seven points and eight rebounds off the bench.

“I just like how we came out,” said coach Lamb. “We were in attack mode, and I like how the ball moved.

“Our movement was better this game, and obviously when you make shots it makes everything a little bit easier and it spreads the floor a little bit,” he said. “But I just like how we competed, and just how we came out and got after it.”

Almond-Bancroft boys basketball head coach Curt Lamb huddles with his team during a timeout in the sixth-ranked Eagles’ 83-43 win over Pacelli at the Pacelli Student Activities Center Friday, Dec. 21. (John Kemmeter photo)

The Eagles will play in the 47th Sentry Classic at Bennett Court at Quandt Fieldhouse this week, as they are set to take on Amherst (0-7) at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 27, then square off with Stratford (6-0) at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 28.

Almond will resume conference play at home against Wild Rose at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, as it looks to stay atop the CWC South, which it currently leads over Pacelli (2-1), Rosholt (2-1), Port Edwards (2-1), Wild Rose (2-2), Pittsville (0-3) and Tri-County (0-4).

“Last year the conference was incredibly tough, and this year, once again, it’s very good,” said coach Lamb. “We struggled with Pittsville a little bit and they’re solid, Pacelli has kids that can play and they’re going to be a tough out as the conference goes along, and Wild Rose knocked off the No. 2 team early in the year in Division 5 (Wauzeka-Steuben), so they’re going to be capable.

“Port Edwards has Addison Gibbs, who is just a great player, and then coach Gibbs over there is going to have them ready to go, and we played Tri-County on Monday night and they came out and they put 42 on us in the first half, so they’re capable also,” he said. “You’ve got to be ready to play every night.”

The Eagles also have their sights set on a making a deep postseason run, as the current seniors were freshmen when Almond advanced to the Division 5 Sectional Finals in 2016, which was the best finish in program history.

“First we’ve got to get a Conference Championship, and we had a good start at that tonight,” said Noah Kollock after the win over Pacelli. “But we’ve always got that big goal, we’ve always said that we want to get down to Madison and get a State Title.

“We’re going to have to go through some tough teams to do that, and we’ve got to keep getting better,” he said.

“We want that Conference Banner up on the wall,” said coach Lamb. “The seniors and juniors put a lot of time into it in the off-season, so that’s our first and foremost goal.

“And try to get as far as we can,” he said. “And wherever that is, that’s our goal.”