Key turnovers give Central win over MUHS

The Brookfield Central basketball teams had different results on Tuesday, as the boys held on to beat Marquette, 62-58, at home while the girls ran into a buzzsaw at Divine Savior Holy Angels and dropped a 54-38 decision.

The victory left the boys tied for first with Wauwatosa East, both with 3-0 records, while the loss dropped the girls to 0-2 in the Greater Metro Conference, tied for last place with Brookfield East and West Allis Hale.

Marquette

"It was a war the whole game," Central boys coach Mark Adams said. "They made two crucial turnovers in the final minutes and that cost them the game."

The first turnover came when Central senior guard Jack Sandstrom stole the ball and the Hilltoppers fouled sophomore point guard Riley LaChance, who went to the line and sank two free throws to put Central up by four.

Senior forward Seth Mortag and Sandstrom then double-teamed the Hilltoppers and they turned the ball over again.

This time LaChance ran the offense, ate up the clock and found Sandstrom for a layup with eight seconds left to play, clinching the game.

The Hilltoppers actually got off to a 13-4 lead in the first quarter, but the Lancers battled back to take a 15-14 lead after the first period. Central then got some breathing room with a 15-10 second quarter to take a 30-24 lead into intermission.

"We went on a run where we turned them over nine times in row," Adams said, "and that got us back in the game."

Mortag scored 17 points to lead the way, including 9-of-12 from the free-throw line. LaChance added 11 and Sandstrom added 10, including two 3-pointers.

"Sandstrom had a great game," Adams said. "I put him in four minutes into the third quarter and he went the rest of the game. He had some huge rebounds, one of the key steals and made two huge 3-pointers.

"Riley did a great job of breaking the pressure and recognizing the defense."

Lancers girls

The girls lost three in a row for the first time since 2006, as DSHA (2-0, 5-2) stayed tied for first place.

Central trailed 32-28 after three periods when the Dashers blew them out, 22-10. Anna Liewen led the Lancers with 17 points. Arike Ogunbowale (23 points) and Maggie Novak (19) led DSHA.