Lancers hang on, beat Bulldogs to go into break tied for first

The Brookfield Central boys find themselves in an enviable position going into the holiday break.

The Lancers are tied for first with Wauwatosa East, each with 4-0 records, on top of the Greater Metro Conference following a thrilling 53-49 victory at West Allis Central on Dec. 15.

"To go 4-0 in this conference before Christmas; we couldn't ask for anything more," Lancers coach Mark Adams said. "Obviously it's a goal. I'll say it again - it's a war every night. It really is."

The Lancers, who dropped a 53-49 nonconference game to Milwaukee King on Tuesday at home, will now travel to Milwaukee South at 7:30 p.m. Friday for their final game before break.

The Lancers rallied with 2 minutes left to play to beat a talented West Allis Central team, 53-49, in West Allis in their final GMC game of 2011. The game was played on Thursday instead of Friday because the prestigious Ed Stech Wrestling Tournament held at WAC on Friday and Saturday.

A thrilling ending

Najeal McMillian, the Bulldogs' outstanding senior forward, put in a rebound shot and was fouled with two minutes to play, giving WAC a 48-46 lead, and Brookfield Central called time out.

Adams talked about defending the lob play the Bulldogs were using to toss the ball in to 6-foot-5-inch McMillian and 6-8 Tonnie Collier.

"We were making a game adjustment; it wasn't something we did in practice before," Adams said. "That was the first thing said. Then I pointed to the clock and said there is plenty of time to do something. I asked Riley (LaChance) what play he wanted to run, and that's what we ended up running."

After the time out, McMillian sank the free throw for a 49-46 lead, but that was the last score for the Bulldogs.

Seth Mortag drove the lane for a score at 1:37 and, after the Bulldogs lost the ball, LaChance went inside and banked in a shot for a 50-49 lead with 55.8 seconds left.

The play of the game then occurred when LaChance deflected the ball away from Jarvis Garrett. The deflection went to Nick Olson, who then threw a perfect pass to Mortag as he was racing down court for the slam dunk and a 52-49 lead with 27.1 to play.

Collier missed a long shot from the right corner and the ball went out of bounds, but WAC retained possession with 15.4 left. Ron Turkvan then missed a long shot from the left corner with 6.8 seconds left to play.

Darvell Brown picked up his fifth foul against Mortag, and the Lancers senior missed the first free throw but sank the second for a four-point advantage and the game.

Earlier challenges

Brookfield Central took a 14-8 first-quarter lead as Matt Lauritzen had six points and Mortag four, and then LaChance scored six points in the second period as the Lancers took a 24-18 lead into intermission.

But WAC came out strong and cut the lead to 37-34 after three quarters as McMillian was unstoppable with eight points and Collier and Brown added four each. LaChance had six points and Mortag four for the Lancers.

Mortag and LaChance each had five points in the fourth quarter, while McMillian and Collier had 12, and Brookfield Central won the final period, 16-15.

"This is one of the better teams in the conference," Mortag said, adding, "but we need to take care of business every night."

LaChance led Brookfield Central with 17 points, while Lauritzen and Mortag each finished with 13. McMillian led all scorers with 21 points, but he had help from Collier (12) and Brown (10).

Milwaukee King

The Lancers dropped a thrilling 62-59 nonconference decision to Milwaukee King (3-0) of the City Conference on Tuesday of this week.

Lauritzen continued to play well for Central, as he had 18 points, one point behind the game's high scorer, Arroyo Edwards of King (19).

LaChance scored 14 points and was the only other Lancers in double figures. Olson and Sandstromg each had eight points, though, and Meichtry added seven. Mortag struggled, scoring only four points.

Nic Stokes was the only other General in double figures with 10, but King had Austin Malone-Mitchell (nine), Anthony Hatfield (nine) and Dominique Borom (eight).

The difference in the game was a poor first quarter, as the Generals took an 11-5 lead. Central out-scored King, 22-18, in the third quarter and cut the lead to 41-40, but they couldn't put the Generals away.