Down five points heading into the fourth quarter, the Polar Bear boys’ varsity basketball team didn’t panic. Instead, they outscored the Fond du Lac Cardinals 23-12 to escape with a 65-59 win.
Hortonville trailed 11-10 after one quarter but gained 17-15 scoring advantage in the second quarter to take a 27-26 lead at halftime.
The Cardinals outscored the Polar Bears 21-15 in the third quarter to put Hortonville in a five-point hole, but the Bears answered with 23 points while holding the Cardinals to just 12 points in the final frame. Hortonville took the lead early in the fourth quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.
Ryan Krueger scored 16 points to lead the Polar Bears, while Sean Killoren added 14. Jake Sommers scored 12, Kyle Witthuhn netted 11, Charlie Schabo added nine, Trenton Knuppel contributed two, and Reece Frederick dropped in one point.
The Polar Bears hit six 3-point shots in the game, as Krueger made three and Schabo, Killoren and Witthuhn each hit one.
Oshkosh West 62, Hortonville 51
A close contest ended in an 11-point win for the visiting Oshkosh West Wildcats as they handed the Polar Bears a 62-51 loss on Friday, Jan. 23.
Hortonville led 14-13 after one quarter but trailed 29-24 at halftime. The Wildcats increased their lead to six points by outscoring the Polar Bears 14-13 in the third quarter.
Oshkosh West’s offense found a spark in the fourth quarter, helping the Wildcats outscore the Polar Bears 19-14 and put the game away.
The Polar Bears made 17 of 49 shots (34 percent) including 5 of 19 from 3-point range (26 percent) and 12 of 18 from the free throw line (66 percent). The team gathered 28 rebounds and notched 12 assists with three steals and eight blocked shots and seven turnovers.
Sommers led Hortonville with 11 points and five rebounds, while Krueger added 10 points. Witthuhn added nine points, Killoren netted seven points and grabbed nine boards, Schabo tallied six, Sam Thompson contributed five, Alex Turkow added two and Braden Stoeger scored one for Hortonville.