The conference basketball races are really beginning to sort out now, a pair of county boys basketball teams will square off in a non-conference rematch from earlier this season and Kenosha’s biggest rivals will have a duel in the pool.
These are the highlights of this week’s county high school sports calendar, following Monday’s holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
The week picks up Tuesday with a packed schedule, which includes a Southeast Conference boys swimming dual meet between city rivals Bradford and Tremper at Tremper.
On Wednesday night, Reuther hosts Christian Life in a non-conference boys basketball game, the friendly county rivals’ second meeting this season.
Meanwhile, the Westosha Central boys basketball team has a big home game Friday night against Union Grove, as the Falcons pursue yet another Southern Lakes Conference title.
Here are Kenosha.com Associate Editor Mike Johnson’s “Top 5 Events to Watch” in the county this week, along with a weekly calendar of high school varsity sports involving county teams.
TOP 5 EVENTS TO WATCH
BRADFORD AT TREMPER (boys swimming)
Tuesday (Jan. 17), 4:30 p.m., Tremper High School (8560 26th Ave., Kenosha)
The longstanding rivals get a chance to test their mettle against each other near the season’s midpoint with an SEC dual meet at Tremper. The Red Devils and Trojans continue regular-season competition through the end of this month, then the SEC Meet is scheduled for Feb. 4 at the Racine Unified Aquatic Center, followed by a Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 sectional, also at the Racine Unified Aquatic Center, on Feb. 10-11.
PHOTOS: TOM KENFIELD
WILMOT AT INDIAN TRAIL (boys basketball)
Tuesday (Jan. 17), 7 p.m., Indian Trail High School and Academy (6800 60th St., Kenosha)
County programs Wilmot and Indian Trail take a quick break from conference action to face each other in a non-conference matchup at Indian Trail. The Panthers are 6-8 overall and have played well of late, winning three of their last five. Those two defeats were a four-point loss at SLC foe Elkhorn and a two-point loss in overtime at home against SLC opponent Waterford last week Friday. Senior wing Cooper Zimmerman leads Wilmot at 15.9 points per game, while senior guard Jake Christiansen is also averaging in double figures at 14.6 points per contest. The Hawks enter the game at 9-4 and are coming off a big 65-55 SEC win at Racine Case last week Friday. Indian Trail junior forward Manasseh Stackhouse, listed at 6-foot-8, leads the SEC at 22.7 points per game and ranks second with 8.6 rebounds per game. Senior guard Jackson Wilhelmson averages 15.2 points per game for the Hawks.
CHRISTIAN LIFE AT REUTHER (boys basketball)
Wednesday (Jan. 18), 6:30 p.m., Reuther High School (913 57th St., Kenosha)
Ever attend a high school basketball game in the old gymnasium at Reuther, which long ago was known as Kenosha High School? Well, this week is your chance. In an intimate setting that will remind spectators of a truly old-school gym, the Bulldogs host the Eagles in a renewal of a county rivalry that’s really heated up in recent years. The teams first met this season on Dec. 12 at CLS, and the Eagles emerged with a 59-40 victory. Going into the rematch, CLS is 4-4 overall and is looking to snap a three-game losing streak. Senior guard Sam Jennings is having a huge season for the Eagles, as he leads the Midwest Classic Conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game, including a 32-point performance at Milwaukee Messmer in his last outing. Reuther, meanwhile, is coming off a 71-46 win over St. Anthony on Saturday at UW-Parkside’s DeSimone Arena, which upped the Bulldogs’ record to 6-7. Junior guard Kamauri Leavell (17.7 points per game), senior forward Jamarie Osborne (15.1 points per game) and junior guard Avontay Johnson (14 points per game) are all averaging in double figures scoring for Reuther. The Bulldogs play Tuesday night at Wisconsin School for the Deaf before Wednesday’s game.
PHOTO: CENTRAL GIRLS BASKETBALL TWITTER
WESTOSHA CENTRAL AT BRADFORD (girls basketball)
Wednesday (Jan. 18), 7 p.m., Bradford High School (3700 Washington Rd., Kenosha)
The Red Devils and Falcons continue the non-conference theme between county programs with a girls matchup at the Bradford Fieldhouse. Bradford first plays at Milwaukee Reagan on Tuesday night in non-conference play, as the Red Devils enter the week with a 10-5 overall record. Bradford is coming off a tough one-point home loss to SEC leader Franklin last week Friday, but the Red Devils remain right in the mix atop the SEC at 5-2 in conference play, two games behind the 7-0 Sabers and one back of 6-1 Oak Creek. Bradford senior forward Nevaeh Thomas, an NCAA Division I University of Evansville (Ind.) recruit, leads the SEC at 25.1 points per game, which ranks eighth in the entire state per WisSports.net, and is second in the conference with 13.1 rebounds per game. For Central, which has won two straight to improve to 5-10 overall, senior forward Reese Rynberg is averaging 17.6 points per game, third in the SLC.
PHOTO: FRESH COAST HOOPS TWITTER
UNION GROVE AT WESTOSHA CENTRAL (boys basketball)
Friday (Jan. 20), 7 p.m., Westosha Central High School (24617 75th St., Salem)
The Falcons host the Broncos in a girls-boys SLC doubleheader, with the girls game at 5:30 p.m. and the boys game to cap the night. The boys matchup has huge implications atop the SLC standings, as Central enters the week at 10-2 overall and 5-1 in conference play. With Burlington suffering a loss at Elkhorn last week Friday, the Falcons and Demons are now tied atop the SLC standings, as Central seeks its seventh SLC title in eight seasons under head coach James Hyllberg and its fifth straight. But Union Grove will have something to say about it, as the Broncos enter the week at 8-5 overall and tied with Waterford for second place in the SLC at 4-2, one game behind Central and Burlington. The Falcons enter this week on a five-game winning streak and are in the midst of a key non-conference stretch before re-entering SLC play on Friday. Central notched a huge win on Saturday in the LeRoy Young Classic at West Bend East High School, taking down previously unbeaten Howards Grove, 52-46. Howards Grove was the top-ranked team in Division 4 in last week’s WisSports.net state coaches poll. The Falcons then play at Milton on Wednesday night, an opponent that’s typically been a tough obstacle for Central in the schools’ Division 2 sectional come WIAA postseason time. This season, sophomore point guard Elijah Griffin enters the week leading the Falcons with 14.1 points, 6.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game. Senior guard John Kinzler is also scoring in double figures at 11.5 points per contest.
HIGH SCHOOL CALENDAR
TUESDAY
Boys basketball–Milwaukee Lutheran at Bradford, 7 p.m.; Wilmot at Indian Trail, 7 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at St. Thomas More, 7 p.m.; The Prairie School at St. Joseph, 7 p.m.; Reuther at Wisconsin School for the Deaf, 7 p.m. Girls basketball–St. Joseph at The Prairie School, 6 p.m.; Bradford at Milwaukee Reagan, 7 p.m.; Burlington at Tremper, 7 p.m.; Indian Trail at Waukesha Catholic Memorial, 7 p.m.; St. Thomas More at Shoreland Lutheran, 7 p.m.; University School at Christian Life, 7:15 p.m. Boys swimming–Bradford at Tremper, 4:30 p.m.; Franklin at Indian Trail (Kenosha YMCA), 4:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY
Boys basketball–Christian Life at Reuther, 6:30 p.m.; Westosha Central at Milton, 7:15 p.m. Girls basketball–Westosha Central at Bradford, 7 p.m.
THURSDAY
Boys basketball–Living Word Lutheran at Christian Life, 7:15 p.m. Girls basketball–Christian Life at Indian Trail, 7 p.m. Wrestling–Indian Trail and Racine Case at Oak Creek, 6:30 p.m.; Racine Horlick/Park at Tremper, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY
Boys basketball–Fuller Collegiate Academy at Indian Trail, 7 p.m.; Union Grove at Westosha Central, 7 p.m.; Wilmot at Lake Geneva Badger, 7 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at Burlington Catholic Central, 7 p.m.; St. Joseph at Racine St. Catherine’s, 7 p.m. Girls basketball–Union Grove at Westosha Central, 5:30 p.m.; Wilmot at Lake Geneva Badger, 5:30 p.m.; Shoreland Lutheran at Burlington Catholic Central, 5:30 p.m. Hockey–Kenosha at Hartland Arrowhead (Mullett Ice Center), 7 p.m. Wrestling–Bradford at Mequon Homestead Invite, 4 p.m.; Wilmot at Burlington Invite, 4 p.m.
SATURDAY
Girls basketball–Wilmot at Indian Trail, 1 p.m.; Racine St. Catherine’s at St. Joseph, 2 p.m. Boys swimming–Tremper at Wauwatosa East Invite, 9:45 a.m.; Bradford at Jefferson Invite, 10 a.m. Wrestling–Shoreland Lutheran at Sheboygan North Invite, 8 a.m.; Bradford and Indian Trail at Whitnall Invite, 9 a.m.; Tremper at Fort Atkinson Invite, 9 a.m.; St. Joseph at Markesan Invite, 9:30 a.m.; Christian Life at St. Croix Falls Invite, 10 a.m.
