Heights boys notch a pair of wins

Wisconsin Heights’ boys basketball team won both of their games last week. The Vanguards defeated Madison Country Day, 61-58, in overtime on Jan. 14. Heights also downed Waterloo, 61-52, on Jan. 16. Heights improved to 5-7 overall and is 1-1 in the Capitol South Conference. Here’s a recap of the Vanguards’ week: • Wisconsin Heights 61, Madison Country Day 58 (OT) — Brayden Van Riper hit two 3-pointers in overtime and led the Vanguards with 19 points. Logan Duhr also hit four huge free throws in the extra session as Heights prevailed. “I was really pleased with the way we stepped up as a team in overtime and got important stops and baskets when we needed to in order to get the win,” Heights coach Nolan Krentz said. Mike Fancsali added 12 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Ethan Myers added 11 points and Duhr had five assists. “We knew coming into this game that Madison Country Day (0-9) would be extremely competitive looking for their first win of the season and they certainly gave us all we could handle,” Krentz said.  Heights led, 25-24, at halftime after a three-pointer by senior Ethan Myers just before the buzzer.   The Vanguards began pulling away in the second half and led by as many as nine points at 40-31. Country Day went on a 15-6 run of its own, though, to tie the game, 46-46. The teams eventually went to overtime, where Van Riper and Duhr both came up large. Heights finished the night shooting 22-of-45 from the field (48.9%) and 11-of-16 on 3-pointers (68.8%). • Wisconsin Heights 61, Waterloo 52 — Reed Adler had 25 points and nine rebounds to power the Vanguards past the Pirates. It was Heights’ first conference win since defeating Waterloo on Feb. 14, 2023 — a stretch of 701 days. “It was very meaningful for our players to get a victory in conference and hopefully we can continue to be more competitive in conference play this season,” Krentz said. Brayden Van Riper added six rebounds, while Ethan Myers added eight assists and three steals. Mike Fancsali had five assists, Logan Duhr added four steals and Brayden Van Riper had four blocks. The Vanguards shot 51.2% from the field (22-of-43) and 70.0% on 3-pointers (7-of-10). “We knew Waterloo (0-11) would be motivated to get their first win of the season,” Krentz said.   Waterloo led, 24-18, late in the first half, but the Vanguards finished the half on a 17-6 run and took a 35-30 lead at the break. Heights led by as many as 17 in the second half and cruised to a second straight win. • On deck: Heights was at Belleville Tuesday, then travels to Marshall on Friday at 7:30 p.m.