Raining threes for Lancers

Brookfield Central's Mark Adams' varsity reserve program continues to pay off for the veteran coach.

The Lancers boys basketball team rallied with a huge second quarter and went on to defeat Sussex Hamilton, 74-63, on Friday at Central and stay in first place in the Greater Metro Conference.

The Lancers improved to 7-0 in conference play and 12-2 overall, take one game ahead of Wauwatosa East (6-1, 11-2). They now travel to Menomonee Falls (2-5, 5-7) on Jan. 27 and Marquette (1-6, 2-9) on Jan. 31.

While senior Seth Mortag and sophomore Riley LaChance once again played a big role in the victory - each scored 19 points - it was another senior who stepped up big time on Friday.

Jack Sandstrom, a 6-foot-3-inch sharp-shooting guard, finished with 15 points coming on five 3-pointers, four of them coming in a crucial second period.

"Jack Sandstrom didn't get any quality varsity playing time last year," Adams said. "But he was a varsity reserve star; he made his mark. The varsity reserve program gives guys a chance to develop. We have then have confidence in them as a senior."

Sandstrom is the top reserve scorer (7.4 points per game average) on this year's team, but he does more than shoot 3-pointers, said Adams.

"He has played at a high level," he said. "He has made contributions in games where he didn't score a point. He is not one-dimensional. He plays good defense; he has had key steals and he rebounds. He is really embracing his senior year. He has eight guaranteed games left."

Central trailed the Chargers (3-4, 7-7) after the first period Friday night, 19-14, but Sandstrom nailed four 3-pointers and 6-4 senior forward Nate Rohde poured in another trey, as they sparked the Lancers to a 24-8 quarter and a 38-27 lead at halftime. Each team scored 36 points in the second half, so that big second period was the difference. Central led 55-46 after three quarters as Jason Meichtry also hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter.

It was the sixth straight game the Lancers have scored between 71 and 76 points.

Rohde finished with five points, while Nick Olson had eight points and four assists, Jason Meichtry six points and Luke Rasmussen had two. Mortag also had seven rebounds and four assists and LaChance added four steals and three assists.

Hamilton sophomore guard Brady Ellingson had 20 points, with four 3-pointers, including nine in the first quarter. Senior forward Tony Gumina added 14.

The Lancers shot well, hitting 27-of-45, an outstanding .600 percentage. Central was also 12-for-16 (.750) from the free-throw line and the Chargers were 14-for-19 (.737).

More results: See separate story for how Central fared against West Allis Hale on Tuesday.