Tribe upsets No. 8 WSR

Joe Miller scores 1,000th point in win at Waverly...
Waukon senior Joe Miller scored the 1,000th point of his four-year varsity career last Friday, Feb. 11, as the Indians posted a 56-54 upset win over eighth-rated Waverly-Shell Rock. Miller surpassed the milestone with a three-pointer in the first quarter of the contest and finished the night with 21 points. Miller is just the second WHS boys basketball player to reach 1,000 points. Scott Sawyer, a 1982 graduate, was the first. He finished his career with 1,254 points.

Waukon's boys basketball squad got back into winning form this past week, posting a pair of wins over league opponents. Tuesday, Feb. 8, the Tribe scored a 49-32 home win over Oelwein. Friday, Feb. 11, the Indians traveled to Waverly-Shell Rock and came away with an emotional 56-54 win over the eighth-rated Go-Hawks. Waukon moves to 11-7 for the year, which includes a 6-4 mark in the Northeast Iowa Conference standings. MILLER SCORES 1,000 Waukon senior Joe Miller became the second boys basketball player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark during the Indians' Friday night win over Waverly-Shell Rock. Miller, a four-year varsity player, topped the mark in the game's first quarter with a three-point basket. The only other WHS athlete to surpass the mark is Scott Sawyer. The 1982 graduate finished his career with 1,254 points. vs. Oelwein... After skidding through a trio of recent losses, the Tribe was due for victory Tuesday, Feb. 8 as they hosted NEIC foe Oelwein. Waukon handed the Huskies, owners of just one league win, a 49-32 loss. Oelwein was looking for an upset, and played the Tribe well in the first, jumping to an early 5-2 lead. A three-pointer by sophomore forward Ryan Jones tied the score at five, but the Huskies regained the lead, 11-7. A long two-pointer by sophomore guard Mike Rausch pulled Waukon within two, 11-9, but Oelwein added a late bucket to go ahead 13-9 after one quarter. Sophomore forward Jeremy Hirth landed a free throw to open the second. Jones added seven unanswered points, boasting a pair of jump shots and another triple to push Waukon to a 17-13 advantage. Late in the frame, Austin Forsyth sank a three to pull Oelwein within three, 22-19, but junior guard Ben Rausch laid in a bucket to give the Tribe a 24-19 lead at the half. Waukon steadily increased its lead in the third, using an 8-2 run to start the quarter well. By the end of the frame, the Tribe owned a 34-25 advantage. The Indians got another jump on the Huskies early in the night's final frame, sinking six straight points to extend their lead to 15. In the contest's final five minutes, the Tribe outdid their guests 9-4 to take the 49-32 league win. Waukon coach Don Kuennen was most pleased with how his charges reacted after taking a loss to Prairie du Chien the night before. "I was pleased with how our players rebounded from a tough loss the night before. They went out and played smart and played hard." When the teams met in early January, the Huskies had used a triangle and two defense to keep the Tribe's top scorers - Ben Rausch and senior forward Joe Miller - in check. The scheme worked and Oelwein took a narrow six-point loss. This time around, Waukon handled the defensive pressure better. "We handled their defense much better in this game," said Kuennen. "I attribute a lot of that to Ryan Jones stepping up and knocking down 19 points." Jones rounded out a fine game with five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. More importantly, the team played well on defense. "Even bigger was how much better we were on defense this time. Our intensity level picked up considerably from the night before," the coach added. On paper, Waukon looked good, committing a minute nine turnovers, taking a comfortable 26-16 advantage on the boards, and shooting a respectable 70 percent from the free throw line. "We executed those little fundamentals that had been lacking at times this year. This was a good effort," Kuennen pointed out. The Indian coach extended a thank you to Tuesday night's fans. "We had a pretty good night for Parent's Night," he said. "The crowd made a lot of noise and I think that helped our guys immensely." Miller paced the Indians with eight boards and two blocks. Mike Rausch added nine points and a pair of steals. His brother Ben finished with five rebounds and a team-high four takeaways. Hirth also denied a Husky shot attempt. WAUKON FG FT PF TP Mike Rausch 4 0-2 2 9 Ben Rausch 4 0-0 1 8 John Seibert 0 0-0 0 0 Joe Miller 3 2-2 3 8 Dylan Schulte 0 0-0 0 0 Jeremy Hirth 1 1-2 4 3 Ryan Jones 7 2-2 1 19 Kendal Sickels 0 2-2 1 2 Russell ReVoir 0 0-0 0 0 Andrew Snitker 0 0-0 1 0 TOTAL 19 7-10 13 49 3-point goals: Jones (3); M. Rausch oelwein FG FT PF TP Michael Harper 0 2-4 3 2 Zach Stecklein 1 0-0 0 3 Austin Forsyth 2 0-0 1 5 Nick Link 1 1-2 1 3 Mark Jamison 0 0-0 4 0 Nate VanVeldhuizen 3 0-0 0 7 Adam Suckow 0 0-0 0 0 Marc Miller 0 1-2 1 1 Cory Hursey 0 0-0 0 0 Aaron Kennon 5 1-2 2 11 Brad Loughren 0 0-0 1 0 Derek Nelson 0 0-0 0 0 Josh Harr 0 0-0 0 0 Jake Worden 0 0-0 0 0 TOTAL 12 5-10 13 32 3-point goals: Stecklein, Forsyth, VanVeldhuizen at Waverly-Shell Rock... In more ways than one, the Indians had a tall task in front of them Friday, Feb. 11, when they traveled to Waverly to face the Go-Hawks. Not only are the Go-Hawks the eighth-ranked squad in Class 3A, but they also boast a sizeable lineup. Waukon, however, didn't shy away and came up with an exciting 56-54 win. By the end of the first frame, the Indians trailed by a mere point, 16-15, but the Go-Hawks put together a 14-point swing through the first four minutes of the second to double up the Tribe, 30-15. Waukon moved within 13 towards the end of the period before Ben Rausch was fouled on a three-point shot. The junior guard landed all three attempts to update the tally at 39-29 at the half. Rausch's free throws proved to be very valuable in the contest, swinging momentum in the Indians' favor for the third frame. During the quarter, the Tribe sliced their 10-point deficit down to nothing, allowing the squads to enter the final eight minutes in a 46-46 knot. The fourth quarter spread was rarely more than a single point as the teams battled to a 54-53 Go-Hawk advantage with 60 seconds to play. Tensions mounted in the closing seconds as Jones nailed a triple with five seconds left to move the Tribe ahead, 56-54. Waverly immediately signaled for a time out and, once play resumed, advanced to halfcourt only to call for another break with just three ticks left on the clock. Back on the court, the Go-Hawks attempted a lob pass, but the ball sailed out of bounds, giving the Tribe possession with a mere two seconds left. Waukon hoped to run the clock out with a full court pass, but the throw struck the ceiling, giving possession back to Waverly under its own basket. Fortunately, the Indians kept pressure on the Go-Hawks' final shot, which sailed long to give the Indians the upset win. Kuennen had plenty to say after the win and credited his charges for hanging in there after getting behind early. "We got ourselves down 15 points in the second quarter, but the guys never got down and were able to tie the score by the end of the third." Of all the conference gyms, Kuennen thinks Waverly's is one of the toughest to score a win. "I have to give the guys a lot of credit. Waverly is a tough place to win against one of the toughest teams in Class 3A." The coach pointed to defense and rebounding as important factors in the win. "We played defense well and managed to outrebound a much bigger team," he said. For the night, the Tribe reeled in 29 boards while the Go-Hawks grabbed 24. The Indian defense allowed only five Waverly athletes to get on the scoreboard. Defense and pounding the glass were key, but the statistic that put the Tribe over the top was free throw shooting. Waverly actually outscored their guests from the field, 49-48, but the Indians were a fine eight-for-nine from the charity stripe while the Go-Hawks hit just five of ten attempts. An off-the-wall statistic Kuennen pointed out was his squad's ability to end each frame with a three-point play. "John Seibert hit a three-pointer at the end of the first and then Ben was fouled on a three at the end of the second and he made all three free throws. Joe hit a shot from about 24 feet out at the buzzer in the third and then, of course, Ryan had the game winner. Those were 12 big points." Kuennen and the Indians hope downing a top-ten opponent will give the team momentum into the last few weeks of the season as well as the postseason. "Hopefully we can build off this big win. We need to carry some momentum for the next few games and then gear up for tournament time," the coach mentioned. Individually, the high-light of the night was Miller's 1,000th point. The senior entered the game needing just six points to reach the mark. He sank a first quarter triple to become the second WHS boys basketball player to surpass the milestone. 1982 graduate Scott Sawyer is the only other Indian to accomplish the feat and scored 1,254 during his varsity career. "Joe had a big night with 21 points and nine rebounds. He's playing with more confidence now," Kuennen noted. Miller also registered a pair of blocks. Ben Rausch ended the night with 15 points, including a six-for-seven effort at the free throw line. He also had six rebounds, four assists, a pair of steals, and drew a pair of second half charges. Jones sat through a lot of the contest in foul trouble, but still finished with eight points and a block. "Ryan had to sit through a lot of the game, but he still came in and hit the game winner," Kuennen stated. In Jones' absence, the Indians made use of several reserves. "We had guys come off the bench and they didn't hurt us," the coach added. Hirth sank only two buckets, but both were important fourth quarter shots. He also snagged seven rebounds, blocked one Go-Hawk shot, and dished out four assists. WAUKON FG FT PF TP Mike Rausch 1 2-2 3 5 Ben Rausch 4 6-7 1 15 John Seibert 1 0-0 2 3 Joe Miller 9 0-0 2 21 Dylan Schulte 0 0-0 0 0 Jeremy Hirth 2 0-0 2 4 Ryan Jones 3 0-0 4 8 Kendal Sickels 0 0-0 0 0 Russell ReVoir 0 0-0 0 0 Andrew Snitker 0 0-0 1 0 TOTAL 20 8-9 15 56 3-point goals: Miller (3); Jones (2); M. Rausch, B. Rausch, Seibert waverly-sr FG FT PF TP Andrew Heckroth 0 0-0 1 0 Austin Woltz 0 0-1 4 0 Scott Duitsman 2 1-2 1 5 Dusty Rewerts 2 0-0 0 5 Chris Dana 0 0-0 1 0 Eric Waldstein 0 0-0 0 0 Andy Traetow 0 0-0 0 0 Grant Franzen 7 0-0 0 18 Clay Vette 10 3-6 4 23 Ryan Vette 1 1-3 4 3 TOTAL 22 5-12 15 54 3-point goals: Franzen (4); Rewerts The Indians traveled to Central Tuesday night for nonconference action. Waukon will wrap up league play this week, hosting Charles City Friday, Feb. 18 and then traveling to Decorah Tuesday, Feb. 22. Action begins each night at 6:15 p.m. with the sophomore contest.