A 51-53 defeat at the hands of the Oconto Blue Devils ended the Trucker boys varsity basketball season on Saturday, March 5.
The Truckers trailed 17-21 at halftime, but roared into the lead by outscoring the Blue Devils 20-15 in the third quarter to take a 37-36 lead into the final frame. In the fourth quarter, Clintonville was outscored 14-17, suffering a tough 51-53 loss to end the season.
Patrick VanDaalwyk led the Truckers with 28 points and seven rebounds. Jake Riemer added eight points, while Justin Reiter, Tyler Sawall, and Xavier Fletcher all had four points. Greg Kriewaldt added three.
Oconto’s Ryan DePouw hurt the Truckers, scoring 32 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Clintonville shot 48.9 percent from the field, while holding Oconto to 40.5 percent. Clintonville also held an advantage in 3-point shots, making 23.1 percent of their shots compared to Oconto’s 12.5 percent.
The difference in the game was free throws, as Oconto made 18-of-26 from the charity stripe, while Clintonville scored 4-of-9 from the line.
Clintonville outrebounded Oconto 29-25 and also had 10 assists, compared to Oconto’s four.
Regional Semi-Final
Clintonville 53
Oconto Falls 49
Clintonville held a 21-20 advantage at halftime, but Oconto Falls evened the score at 26 all by the end of the third quarter. Both teams scored 18 points to send the game to overtime, where Clintonville outscored Oconto Falls 9-5 to secure a thrilling victory.
VanDaalwyk led the Truckers with 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Fletcher added eight and Riemer scored seven. Reiter added five points and seven rebounds, while Sawall scored three and Kriewaldt netted two. Colin Moon scored one for the Truckers.
Clintonville shot the ball well from 3-point range, making 38 percent of their attempts. Oconto Falls made just 14 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, and shot 32 percent from the field, compared to Clintonville’s 35 percent.
The Truckers shot 58 percent from the free throw line, while the Panthers made just 45 percent of their attempts from the stripe. The Truckers also outrebounded the Panthers 36-34, though the Panthers had 11 assists to Clintonville’s nine.