Curtis Thompson Jr Leads Winter over Frederic

Curtis Thompson Jr Leads Winter over FredericPhoto byExplore Southern Sawyer County

Winter Wisconsin - The Frederic Vikings rolled into the Warriors home gym with a 3-14 record, having just secured a win over the Siren Dragons, a team that had won on a late game three pointer over the Winter Warriors on December 14, 2023. The Warriors enter the game 10-6 and on a 5-game winning streak. During that 5 game period, the Warriors averaged 91.4 points per game and giving up 66.4 points per game. The Warriors have made a habit of lighting up the scoreboard this season with a season average of 79.8 points per game, good for 1st among Division 5 teams, and 7th overall in the state.

The game started out very tight on a night where neither team was shooting very well. Winter led by as much as 7 points in the game, with Frederic closing the gap numerous times to bring it within 3 points. Winter went into the half with a 33-28 lead. Winter applied pressure forcing 11 first half turnovers, but failed to convert on multiple attempts. 7 of those 11 turnovers came off of team steals.

The second half the Warriors started out strong by going up 15 with a 47-32 lead, then Leif Lahti went on an 8 point run by himself to bring the lead to 49-40. The Warriors came back with back to back baskets Adam Bednorski and Gunnar Greuel to go up 53-40. Gunnar's putback gave him 1,001 points for his career, and a game stoppage was issued to provide recognition and a brief celebration of his accomplishment(s).

Final Score
66 Winter
58 Frederic

The Warriors kept the 13 point margin going into the final stretch and won the non-conference matchup 66-58.

The Warriors shot just 40.3% on the night, 20% from 3, and 63% from the free throw line. All the credit goes to the Frederic Vikings for bringing their physical yet patient brand of basketball into Winter. Frederic also shot just 34.9% on the night, also shooting just 20% from 3, and 47% from the free throw line. The Warriors outrebounded Frederic 40-37 but ultimately the deciding factor was turnovers, which Winter forced Frederic into 22 team turnovers, coming off of 15 Winter's team steals. The Warriors move to 11-6 on the season.

Curtis Thompson Jr led all scorers with 17 points, adding 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Gunnar Greuel secured yet another double-double with 15 points and 18 rebounds, he added 6 assists, 6 steals, and 4 blocked shots. Malte Colliander contributed 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks while going 3-6 from downtown. Adam Bednorski finished with 8 points on a rough shooting night going 3-16 from the field, but adding 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 steal. Kingston Frey came up big with some 5 bench points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal. Carter Petit did a little bit of everything scoring 4 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, and adding 2 steals. Rounding out the scoring was Cole Petit with another great night of defense, and finished 2-2 from the free throw line.

The Warriors are in action on February 2nd, 2024 as they travel to New Auburn to take on the conference leaders, as they sit at 9-2 in Lakeland East play, the Warriors are coming into this game on a 6-game winning steak, and 7-3 in Lakeland East action. This is a big game for both Winter and New Auburn as the conference is starting to shape up with just two weeks left of games.

Lakeland East Conference Standings
9-2 New Auburn
8-3 Birchwood
7-3 Winter
7-4 Flambeau
6-6 Clayton
5-5 Lake Holcombe
1-10 Prairie Farm
0-11 Cornell