Superlarks snap losing skid

Published 10:42 pm Monday, January 17, 2011

Grand Meadow's Dezmon Johnson pulls up for a jump shot over Schaeffer Academy's Joseph Vaughn in the first half of the Superlarks' 68-53 win in GM Monday. -- Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

GRAND MEADOW — Facing a winless team with an eight game losing streak of their own, the Superlarks knew they needed to win against Schaeffer Academy.

Grand Meadow forward Ethan Wylde made sure that happened in a 68-53 Lark win in GM Monday.

After a slow first half, Wylde piled up 13 points and nine rebounds in the second frame to break open a game that GM led 30-27 at halftime.

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“I was getting psyched up,” said Wylde, who finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. “I was ready to take it to them and finish the game strong.”

GM head coach Chad Burmester said that Wylde’s motivation may have come after Friday’s loss to Mabel/Canton.

Grand Meadow's Bryce Benson shoots over Schaeffer Academy's Scott Graham (32) and Nathan Hanson (24) in GM Monday. -- Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com

“After our game last Friday we let everybody know that jobs are up for grabs and we need to play better,” Burmester said. “I think (Ethan) really took that to heart and he had a great second half.”

Wylde also got a little help from senior Caleb Leichtnam, who finished with 26 points, 11 steals and five rebounds. Leichtnam made sure he got his teammates involved as well and most of his own shot attempts came on breakaways off of turnovers.

“We need something to start up with and we’ve got to get those guys’ confidence up because we’re getting to an easier part of our schedule here,” Leichtnam said. “It’s time to get rolling a little bit.”

The Lions (0-7 overall, 0-7 SEC) took an early 8-5 lead and the game went back and forth until Jordan Whitcomb put Schaeffer up 23-21 on a put-back with 6:45 left in the first half. GM (2-9 overall, 2-5 SEC) took over as early in the second half as it scored seven straight to open the second frame.

“I was much happier with our defense in the second half,” Burmester said. “We talked about our rotations in the first half and we weren’t doing a very good job of keeping them out of the paint. Fortunately that changed in the second half.”

The Lions closed to within 46-40, but Andrew Riedemann hit a three to make it 49-40 with 6:10 left in the game and the Larks cruised from that point.

As for Leichtnam, it’s been an interesting year in his first year of basketball as a senior. He and Jason Stier are the only seniors on the team, so he must lead. But he’s also still learning.

“It’s pretty much the same guys as football and they’re used to hearing me talk,” he said of his leadership role. “I’m still learning about basketball a lot and they’re showing me things.”

Burmester said that the squad is still learning to play with Leichtnam and his fast pace.

“People see how many points he’s scoring, but they don’t realize that he does do a good job of setting up his teammates,” Burmester said. “Sometimes guys get mesmerized by what he does out there. We’ve just got to get guys to realize that he’s going to look for you and he’ll get you the ball.”

Bryce Benson, a GM sophomore, had six points, 13 rebounds and six assists in the win.

Schaeffer 27 26 — 53

GM 30 38 — 68

GM scoring: Caleb Leichtnam, 26; Ethan Wylde, 16; Andrew Riedemann, 8; Bryce Benson, 6; Dezmon Johnson, 6; Jason Stier, 4; Collin Jacobson, 1; Andrew Bell, 1; free throws: 33 percent (6-for-18); rebounds: 45 (Benson, 13); turnovers: 12

Schaeffer scoring: Jordan Whitcomb, 23; Nathan Hanson, 13; Joseph Vaughn, 8; Luke Harris, 4; Scott Graham, 3; Joshua Hanson, 2; free throws: 55 percent (6-for-11); rebounds: 36 (Nathan Hanson, 12); turnovers: 31