All Sam Bertsch wanted from his Iola-Scandinavia boys’ basketball was a win.
He got it, as the Thunderbirds handed Manawa a 53-26 Central Wisconsin 8 Conference defeat Friday, Jan. 29.
It was a different outcome than the team’s 53-33 loss at Amherst three days earlier.
I-S 53, Manawa 26
The T-Birds outscored the Wolves 21-6 in the first quarter and never looked back.
Lucas Albers twisted his ankle during warmups, but was still able to lead all scorers with 15 points.
“It’s not basketball season until Lucas Albers rolls an ankle,” Bertsch said. “He’s missed a couple games the last couple of seasons because of an ankle injury, but he knows how to deal with them. The kid wasn’t 100 percent tonight, but he played a pretty darn good ballgame.”
Wesley Krauss cut the T-Birds lead to 21-9 with a three-pointer to start the second quarter, but that was as close as the Wolves would get the rest of the way. I-S led 33-14 at halftime and 44-19 after three quarters and led by as many as 33 points midway through the fourth quarter.
Brad Hardel and Jordan Beyersdorf also finished in double figures for the T-Birds with 11 and 10 points, respectively, while Brian Tap added eight.
Krauss led the Wolves with 11.
The T-Birds improved to 4-5 in league play and 7-8 overall with the win.
“We want to get back up to that .500 mark,” Bertsch said. “The kids played hard tonight and we needed a win. We’ll take it.”
Amherst 53, I-S 33
Jordan Lutz and Ben Felckowski scored 15 points each as the Falcons remained in first place in the CWC-8.
Amherst led 15-6 after the first quarter, 30-14 at halftime and 42-29 after three quarters before outscoring the T-Birds 11-4 over the final eight minutes.
Albers led the T-Birds with 13 points, while Beyersdorf added eight.
The T-Birds played in Rosholt Tuesday, Feb. 1, and will head to Weyauwega-Fremont Friday, Feb. 4, for a 7:30 p.m. rematch with the Indians. I-S will also play in Shiocton Tuesday, Feb. 8, before hosting Bonduel Thursday, Feb. 10.