Carpenter sparks Red Raiders win over Spartans

Depth is an asset for the Wauwatosa East boys basketball team, but the bench is seemingly getting shorter by the game.

Already without two senior players, the Red Raiders lost another, forward Bryce Kratzer, to a left foot injury in the first quarter against Brookfield East on Friday night.

Nevertheless, a short-handed Red Raiders squad held on for a 49-46 win over the visiting Spartans, who came in having lost three of four in the Greater Metro Conference.

"It's been awhile since we've had a full team together," Red Raiders coach Tim Arndorfer said. "It's a nice luxury when you can have guys step in and take the place of guys who are our regulars."

Junior steps up for Tosa East

Against the Spartans, it was guard Ben Carpenter who provided the spark.

The junior poured in a team-high 15 points off the bench, including four 3-pointers, to lead Tosa East (12-3, 7-2).

"Someone needed to step up and I was more than willing to at least try," Carpenter said. "Things fell for me and it was a good night. The best game I've had in a while."

Despite the timely bench play of the Red Raiders, Brookfield East (7-9, 4-5) had chances to steal a win and even the season series between the two squads.

A Carpenter 3-pointer put Tosa East up, 39-28, early in the fourth quarter, but the Spartans rallied to draw even on two occasions late in the game.

Lanky guard Brian Smith picked off a mid-court pass and floated to the rim for a two-handed dunk to tie the game, 42-42, with 2:27 left.

Red Raiders guard Diamonte McKinley answered with a slashing score, but the Spartans again knotted the game, 44-44, on the next possession when forward Mikey Novak converted a layup with 1:20 left.

The junior scored eight points during a 15-5 run by Brookfield East and finished with a game-high 19.

"Mike keeps getting better," Brookfield East coach Andy Farley said. "I thought we played well through him."

Missed three seals game

But the Spartans were never in position to grab the lead and guard Ryan McBride came up short on a pressured 3-pointer to tie the game at the buzzer.

McKinley, Anthony Carroll and Marquise Carter combined to go 5-for-6 from the free throw line the final minute to seal the win for Tosa East.

"It would have been nice," Farley said, "to get over that hump where we weren't chasing the whole game."

Tosa East jumped out to a 9-4 lead, led by Kratzer who scored the first seven Red Raiders points before leaving midway through the quarter with a left foot injury.

He briefly returned late in the second quarter and finished with eight points, but spent most of the second half on the bench in a walking boot.

With Vince Cupertino and Zak Sylvester already out, Arndorfer said it was critical that the team maintained composure after squandering a double-digit second-half lead.

"We're still waiting for the moment when we know we're playing the way we were in the first half of the season," he said. "Hopefully, it comes sooner than later.

"I'm still waiting for moment for when we know we're playing the way we were in the first half of the season. Hopefully, it comes sooner than later."