The Green Bay Phoenix struggled from behind the arc and had no answers for Western Illinois' inside game, losing 68-59.

The Phoenix shot just 35 percent from the field, including under 20 percent from behind the arc, hitting just seven of their 35 attempts. The Leathernecks used their size advantage to register a 56 percent shooting percentage on the night, outscoring the Phoenix by 12 in the paint (38-26) and outrebounding them 36-29. 

 Noah Reynolds led the Phoenix with 14 points and two steals, while David Douglas Jr. and Clarence Cummings III each chipped in 11 points on the night. The Leathernecks got 18 points each from Ryan Myers and Jesiah West, but the 12 points and 15 rebounds from Drew Cisse kept the Phoenix out of sorts for much of the game.

The Phoenix have now lost two straight games after their win over Milwaukee. They will try to get back into the win column with a matchup against UIC in Chicago at 7 p.m.

The  Green Bay Gamblers scored 11 goals across two days, but it was only good for one win out of two games against the Chicago Steel.

In Friday's 6-5 loss to the Steel in front of 3,500 fans at the Resch Center, the Gamblers clawed their way back from a 4-1 deficit to force a shoot out. Four players had multi-point games for the Gamblers, including two goals from Libor Nemec and Blake Bechen.

In Saturday's 6-2 win, the Gamblers scored three goals in the final period to put the game well out of reach. Michael DeAngelo had a hat trick and Ben Poitras had three points of his own (1 G, 2 A) to lead the Gamblers to the victory. 

The area's wrestling teams came home with plenty of hardware on Saturday, including the top prize at Bay Port's Battle on the Bay Tournament.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team left Suamico on Saturday with another Battle on the Bay title to add to their trophy case. Twelve wrestlers placed in the top eight in the 32-team tournament. Winning their respective brackets included 138-pounder Blakelee Bastien, 120-pounder Carson Neubert, and 150-pounder Max Ronsman. The Spartans scored 520 pounds, 82 points more than second-place Bay Port.

The Southern Door Eagles finished in the top 25 of the 32-team Battle on the Bay Tournament hosted by Bay Port. Trevor Englebert (145 pounds) led the way with a fourth-place finish for the Eagles, while Hayden Jeanquart and Lance Veeser also placed in the top eight in their respective brackets. 

The Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team finished in the middle of the pack as a team but at or near the top of the podium in several weight classes during Saturday's Brillion Invitational. Spencer Madsen led the way for SBS with a first-place finish at 144 pounds, while Seth  Laughlin (285 lbs) and Zak Wrobel (175 pounds) came in second.

The Kewaunee Storm boys' basketball team fell into a deep hole and could not dig itself out as they lost to Freedom on Saturday 88-65 in the Baird Gustman Shootout.

Thomas Stangel led the Storm with 26 points, and Braxton Riha chipped in with 23 points, but the Storm were no match for the Irish's offense. Drew Kortz led the Irish with 20 points as they hit more than a dozen three-pointers as a team in the game.

It's that time of the year again for area wrestling teams as they travel to different tournaments on Saturday.

Luxemburg-Casco and Southern Door will join Appleton North, Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, Beaver Dam, Brookfield East, De Pere, Denmark, East Troy, Elkhorn, Escanaba, Franklin, Germantown, Homestead, Kiel, Mishicot, Mukwonago, Oconomowoc, Oconto Falls, Oshkosh West, Pewaukee, Plymouth, Seymour, Shawano Community, Slinger, Wausau West, West Bend East, West Bend West, West De Pere, Winneconne, and Wrightstown for the annual Battle on the Bay.  Wrestling begins at 8 a.m.

Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will join Green Bay West, host Brillion, Little Chute, Manitowoc Lutheran, Omro, Lourdes Academy, Peshtigo, and Waupaca for a tournament that begins at 9:30 a.m.

You can read about Friday's action featuring the girls from Luxemburg-Casco, Southern Door, and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol at NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com.  Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol's Tiani LeMieux picked up where she left off last season with a third-place finish. Luxemburg-Casco's Evelyn Lange (3-2) placed 4th in the tournament. All three of her wins came via a pin.Four of the Eagles' eight wrestlers placed in the tournament won by Shawano, including first-place finishes by Nora LeFevre (114 pounds) and Hailey Veeser (145 pounds).

Road teams had plenty of success in area boys' basketball action on Friday night.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers took the short ride to Institute Friday night to take on the Sevastopol Pioneers and left with the 73-36 victory.

The Gibraltar Vikings got to within four points twice in the second half but could not get any closer as they fell to the Oconto Blue Devils on Friday night 59-49.

The Algoma Wolves left their dogfight against the Peshtigo Bulldogs with a 66-47 victory.

The Luxemburg-Casco Spartans fell off the pace of the Clintonville Truckers in the second half of their 52-44 loss.

The Green Bay Phoenix return home Saturday night to face former Mid Continent Conference foe Western Illinois in a non-conference matchup.

The Phoenix men fell behind and never recovered in its 78-69 loss to SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday night. Noah Reynolds was again the leading scorer for the Phoenix with 20 points, his third time eclipsing that mark. Elijah Jones added 11 points and Foster Wonders contributed 11 points in the loss.  The game was won at the line as the Cougars made 14 more free throws (28-39) than the Phoenix attempted (8-14).

The Leathernecks have split their last four matchups, losing to Wisconsin and South Dakota while feasting on Hannibal-LaGrange and Coe. In their last game against Coe, James Dent led the way with 14 points while two others reached double figures.

Tip-off from the Resch Center is 6 p.m.

The future of the USHL will call Green Bay home for the next three years after the league announced it would be hosting its annual combine in the city.

According to a release from the Green Bay Gamblers and the USHL, the Combines, which are held in April and July, are an important element for USHL clubs to finalize preparations for the USHL Draft – the key point of entry for players into USA Hockey’s only Tier 1 junior league.

“We could not be more excited that our Combines are going to take place in Green Bay,” said Frank Butler, USHL Director of Player Personnel. “USHL Combines provide players exposure and education on their path to the USHL and beyond. Invitees of each combine will practice and play in front of USHL coaches, USHL scouts and NCAA coaches and we are looking forward to bringing many of the top young prospects from around the world to the state of Wisconsin.”

Butler said that the Combines, which are expected to total more than 1,000 attendees, are slated to take place at Cornerstone Community Center in Ashwaubenon.

“The Greater Green Bay hospitality community is thrilled to welcome the athletes and families participating in the USHL Combines next year,” said Brad Toll, President/CEO of Discover Green Bay. “We’re a hockey town and we can’t wait to drop the puck!”

Until then, the Green Bay Gamblers are playing a home-and-home series against the Chicago Steel this weekend. They will face the Steel on Friday at the Resch Center before switching venues on Saturday. Both games are scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

A nearly-full slate of boys basketball is scheduled for Friday night, including two games on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

Gibraltar looks for their first Packerland Conference of the season when they make their way around the bay to Oconto. Tim Kowols and Matt Malvitz will have the call on 105.1 the GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

Sturgeon Bay and Sevastopol will renew their rivalry when the two teams face off against each other in Institute. Jacob Nate and Reece Robillard will have the call on U-102.1 and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 7:15 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the opening tip at 7:30 p.m.

Other games scheduled for Friday include Luxemburg-Casco facing Clintonville at home (7 p.m.), and Algoma traveling to Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.). 

Thursday's action saw Sevastopol lose to Hilbert 61-46 and Kewaunee beat NEW Lutheran 65-55.

There were plenty of W's across the area on Thursday ahead of a limited girls' basketball schedule on the docket on Friday.

Sevastopol led from start to finish against their Door County rivals, beating Sturgeon Bay 55-25. The Clippers will get back at it on Friday when they travel to Clintonville for a 7 p.m. tip.

Luxemburg-Casco registered a close win over its conference rivals as they beat Wrightstown 58-56.

Southern Door could not come away with the road non-conference, losing to Seymour 56-31.

Kewaunee took the drama out of their game against NEW Lutheran early on, beating them 62-18.

Algoma bounced back from a loss earlier this week with a 51-28 win over Peshtigo.

Gibraltar could not upset conference-leading Oconto at home, losing the game 46-37.

Photo courtesy of Sturgeon Bay Lady Clippers Facebook Page

A trio of duals were featured on Thursday ahead of a busy weekend of tournaments for area wrestlers.

The Luxemburg-Casco wrestling team only lost one match across three dual meets at the Fox Valley Lutheran quad meet featuring Green Bay Preble (83-0), Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol (72-3), and the host Foxes (79-0) on Thursday. A regular decision against SBS was the only points against the Spartans as they outscored their competition  234-3, gaining bonus points in 38 of the 42 matches.

Considering they forfeited at least five weight classes in all three of their matches on Thursday, the Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol wrestling team competed well against tough competition with more complete rosters at the Fox Valley Lutheran quad meet. SBS lost to Luxemburg-Casco 72-3, Green Bay Preble 45-36, and Fox Valley Lutheran 46-28. Giving up five weight classes is equivalent to giving teams a 30-0 lead before a match takes place.

Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, and Luxemburg-Casco will join Bay Port, Bonduel, Brillion, Campbellsport, Chilton, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Florence, Fox Valley Lutheran, Green Bay United, Horicon, Kaukauna, Lena, Manitowoc Lincoln, Marinette, Mishicot, New London, Oconto Falls, Omro, Peshtigo, Plymouth, Random Lake, Reedsville, Shawano Community, Sheboygan North, Sheboygan South, Two Rivers, Waupaca, Waupun, West De Pere, Whitefish Bay, Winneconne, and Wrightstown for the all-girls tournament. Weigh-ins begin at 4 p.m., and the first matches start at 5 p.m. 

The DCU Boys had an incredible night in the pool on Thursday. The team of five managed to pull in 58 points, two relay wins, and four individual wins.

Jack Monfils led the team with 16 points, Ezra Linnan was close on his heels at 13.5, and George Atwell brought in another 12.5. 

Although it is early in the season, the boys are beginning to see times drop in their individual and relay events.  Atwell dropped five seconds in his 200 Free and eight in his 500 Free.

Additionally, Luke Filar swam his fastest back split in the 200 Medley, dropping a tenth of a second from his time this past weekend. 

Here’s the full breakdown of results:
1. Pulaski - 98
2. DCU - 58

Highlights:

• 1st place in the 200 Medley Relay (Luke Filar, Jack Monfils, Ezra Linnan, Logan Filar) with a season-best time of 1:51.13
• 1st place in the 200 Free from George Atwell with a season-best time of 2:11.19
• 1st place in the 200 IM from Monfils with a time of 2:07.33
• 2nd place in the 50 Free from Linnan with a season-best time of 25.25
• 2nd place in the 100 Fly from Logan Filar with a time of 1:01.40
• 1st place in the 100 Free from Linnan with a time of 56.39
• 3rd place in the 500 Free from Atwell with a season-best time of 6:25.65
• 2nd place in the 200 Free Relay (Linnan, Luke Filar, Atwell, Logan Filar)
• 3rd place in the 100 Back from Luke Filar with a time of 1:14.21
• 1st place in the 100 Breast from Monfils with a time of 1:04.44
• 1st place in the 400 Free Relay (Logan Filar, Luke Filar, Atwell,
• Monfils) with a time of 3:54.42

A matchup between two Door County teams highlights a slate full of girls' basketball action on Thursday.

The matchups include Luxemburg-Casco traveling to Wrightstown for a 7 p.m. tip, Southern Door visiting Seymour at 7:00 p.m., Sturgeon Bay hosting Sevastopol at 7:30 p.m., Gibraltar playing at home against Oconto at 7:30 p.m., and Algoma battling Peshtigo at home at 7:30 p.m.

Only two local teams will be in action on Thursday night in boys' basketball action with the remainder holding off until Friday.

The Kewaunee Storm looks to keep the momentum going when it hosts conference rival NEW Lutheran for a 7:30 p.m. tip.

The Sevastopol Pioneers look to bounce back from its outing at Southern Door with a matchup against Hilbert on the road at 7:15 p.m.

Two of the area's wrestling teams will head to Appleton for a quad meet ahead of tournaments this weekend.

Luxemburg-Casco and Sturgeon Bay/Sevastopol will face off against Green Bay Preble and host Fox Valley Lutheran at 6:30 p.m. 

Last weekend, the Spartans cracked 60 points in three of its five wins on Saturday as it swept the Spartans Duals. The Spartans defeated Port Washington 73-5, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln 45-18, Sheboygan Falls 77-0, Shawano Community 66-12, and Bay Port 46-25. Thanks to a combination of forfeits and wins, several Spartans ended their days undefeated.

The SBS squad battled deep into their brackets on Saturday as a part of the Kimberly Papermaker Invitational. All five of its wrestlers had at least a chance to win third place on Saturday, with  Tiani Lemieux, Zak Wrobel, and Seth Laughlin all coming out of it with a bronze finish. Wrobel's day was the most impressive as he pinned his way to the semifinals.

The Door County United Swim Team will have its first home meet of the year on Thursday night when they take on Pulaski at 6 p.m. at the Door County YMCA in Sturgeon Bay.

The United placed seventh with 114 points last Saturday at the Plymouth Invite, gaining victories against fellow conference teams Berlin and Plymouth.

Led by our four Sevastopol representatives, the gentlemen managed to podium the 200 Free Relay, placing 6th overall at 1:41.95.  Additionally, Logan Filar found his way to the podium for his 50 and 100 Free individual events, placing 6th (24.34) and 4th (53.58), respectively.

Senior Logan Filar led the points earned, coming in with 40 points, followed by senior Ezra Linnan with 35 total points. Ezra Linnan had strong showings in both the relays and his individual events, placing within the top 8 in all events. Sophomore George Atwell helped secure the 7th place finish (1:55.68) in the 200 Medley Relay, swimming the fastest 50-free split in his career.  Logan Filar also swam his fastest 50-free split during the 200 Free relay, where he swam a remarkable 22.17. Freshman Luke Filar had a strong showing in his first high school meet, helping to score points in all his events.  His splits in the 200 Medley and 200 Free relays helped support the team in their strong showings in both events.

A historic night in Brussels highlighted an evening of high school boys basketball on the hardwoods Tuesday night.

In Packerland Conference action, Drew Daost scored 53 points and led the Southern Door Eagles to a 93-49 easy win over the Sevastopol Pioneers on U102.1.

Sturgeon Bay rolled to a 71-48 win over the Peshtigo Bulldogs at home.

The Gibraltar Vikings stayed close but could not overtake the NEW Lutheran Blazers in

Fish Creek, falling 61-51. 

The Algoma Wolves lost to the Oconto Blue Devils at home in a nailbiter 51-48

In a non-conference matchup in Kewaunee, the Storm held off a second-half comeback to down the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans 80-70 on 104.1 WRLU.  

With the boys' taking center stage on Tuesday, the girls basketball schedule was light in the Packerland Conference.

In the North Eastern Conference, the Luxemburg-Casco Spartans rolled to an easy 47-18 win over the Clintonville Truckers at home. 

The Milwaukee Bucks stayed undefeated in the new NBA”s  In-Season Tournament play Tuesday night, beating the New York Knicks 146-122 at Fiserv Forum.

The Bucks controlled the game in the second half after a close first half where Milwaukee held a narrow 75-72 lead.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was his dominant self with 15/22 shooting with 35 points 10 assists, and eight rebounds to lead the Bucks.  Damien Lillard added 28 points with 5/7 from beyond the arc.

Julius Randle scored 41 for the Knicks.

Milwaukee will now play the Indiana Pacers in Las Vegas in the semi-finals on Thursday with tip scheduled for 4:00 p.m. 

The Wisconsin Badgers ended with an impressive 70-57 road win over the Michigan State Spartans Tuesday night in the Big Ten opener.  A.J. Storr led the way for the Badgers, scoring 22 points, and Steven Crowl added 18 more as the 23rd-ranked Badgers won for the sixth straight time.

Wisconsin led from start to finish and beat a Michigan State team struggling after being ranked 4th in the preseason polls.

Storr nailed four three-pointers and was 8/11 overall, while Crowl was a perfect 4/4 from beyond the arc. 

Wisconsin will now face the #1 Arizona Wildcats on Saturday on the road.  

You can have Green Bay women's basketball with your early lunch break on Tuesday as they play the DePaul Blue Demons in Chicago.

In their last game, the Phoenix used a 16-5 run in the third quarter to throttle in-state rival UW-Milwaukee 76-53. Maddy Schreiber led the Phoenix with a career-high 23 points. Jasmine Kondrakiewicz added 16 points, and Natalie McNeal contributed 13 points. It was the first time in four years that the Phoenix won their Horizon League opener, including a few disappointing visits to Milwaukee. A win on Tuesday would be head coach Kevin Borseth's 800th.

Standing in the way are the Blue Demons, a perennial power that has opened the season with a 4-4 mark. Anaya Peoples had done it all for the Blue Demons early on, leading the team in points per game (20.9), rebounds per game (8.0), assists per game (3.6), blocks per game (1.3), and minutes (31.8 mpg). The Blue Demons have their own legendary coach in Doug Bruno, who has accumulated more than 770 wins in his career. 

Tip-off is set for 11 a.m.

Only one of the three Door County schools in action on Monday night was able to bring home a victory in girls' basketball action.

The Sturgeon Bay Clippers' girls basketball team returned from over a dozen down to topple the visiting Two Raiders 46-39 in overtime.

The Gibraltar girls' basketball team came up short in their bid for a second straight win on Monday night, falling to the visiting Crivitz Wolverines 55-52.

The Southern Door girls' basketball team could not close the gap between them and the Roncalli Jets in a 53-45 road loss.

The area's boys' basketball teams get their first games of the week in on Tuesday with a cross-county non-conference game being highlighted on the NEW Radio Sports Network.

The Kewaunee Storm and the Luxemburg-Casco will renew a long-time rivalry in a non-conference matchup Tuesday night in Kewaunee. Tip-off at Kewaunee High School is set for 7:30 p.m. and the pregame on 104.1 WRLU with Paul Schmitt and Henry Annen will start at 7:15 p.m.  The game will also be streamed on NewRadioSportsNetwork.com. The Spartans also played on Monday, losing to Pulaski 72-59.

Other games scheduled for Tuesday include Sturgeon Bay hosting Peshtigo (7:30 p.m.), Sevastopol visiting Southern Door (7:30 p.m.), Gibraltar playing at home against NEW Lutheran (7:30 p.m.), and Algoma welcoming Oconto (7:30 p.m.).

The Door County YMCA Striver Gymnastic Team competed in the eight-team Pink Gymnastic Invitational this past weekend. It was hosted by the Marinette/Menominee YMCA. Teams competing were Door County, EauClaire, Fond Du Lac, Green Bay, HOTV, Manitowoc, Marinette/Menominee, and Wausau.

Starting the competition for the Strivers were the Level 7 and Platinum gymnasts. The Level 7 Team captured a third-place Team trophy scoring 106.45. Edging out the Strivers by five-hundredths of a point was Green Bay scoring 106.50. Taking First in Level 7 Team competition was Kettle Moraine with a score of 106.80. Estelle Duerst (14 and under) won gold on floor and vault, grabbed silver in the All Around and bronze on beam. Amira Anschutz (14 and under) won gold in the All Around, silver on beam, bronze on vault, and fifth on bars. Portia Hah (15 and up) placed 4th in the All Around and fifth on beam and bars. In Platinum competition, Shaylynn Asher (one age group) won gold in the All Around, floor, vault beam and bars.

In round two for the Striver Team, the Excel Silver Team won gold in the Team competition scoring 111.65 outscoring the closest competition by 2.4 points. Medaling for the Silver Team were:

Ellie Kelsey: (9 and under) Gold on floor, vault, beam, bars and All-Around

Delaney Allen : (10 & 11)  Gold in the All Around and floor, silver on vault, beam and bars.

Greta Virgin : (10&11) 3rd on beam, 5th on floor.

Sawyer Soukup : (10 & 11) Gold on vault and beam.

Destiny Romero: (12 and up) silver on beam, 5th on vault.

Evelynn Kelsey: (12 & up) Gold on floor, silver on vault, bronze in the All Around snd 4th on bars.

Lauren Gaida : (12 and up) Gold in the All Around, beam, and vault, silver on floor, bronze on bars.

The Striver Gymnastic Team will be hosting their “Flipping in Door County” Invitational on January 27, 2024. The Striver Team is coached by Nikki Pollman, Gerrit DeJonge, and Stacy Berghuis.