Despite victory, narrow losses dogging Red Raiders
Basketball team has lost six games by six or fewer points
Despite the fact that the Wauwatosa East boys basketball team finds itself in the middle of the pack in the Greater Metro Conference, a closer look shows the Red Raiders are only a few points away from a winning record.
The Red Raiders have a 5-6 GMC record and are under .500 at 8-11 overall. Last week Tosa East split two games, losing to Marquette, 53-51, on Feb. 2 at home and then bouncing back to whip West Allis Central, 61-47, on the road Friday.
The two-point loss to the Hilltoppers - which came with 2.5 seconds left to play - was the third defeat of the year by a total of four points in conference play. Tosa East also lost by one to Marquette in the first meeting and lost to Brookfield East (3-8, 6-12) by one the first time around.
A closer look shows the Red Raiders dropped their second game with the Spartans by six points, meaning they lost four games to Brookfield East and Marquette (9-2, 11-6) by a total of 10 points.
The Red Raiders' other conference losses were an eight-point defeat to eighth-ranked Menomonee Falls (11-0, 14-3), the second-closest game the Indians have had this year, and a 17-point loss to Sussex Hamilton.
Two of their nonconference losses have come by four and five points, so they have suffered six defeats by six points or less.
"There has been a common theme to these losses," Tosa East coach Tim Arndorfer said. "Number one, we don't take care of the basketball. Number two, we missed free throws. Number three, we failed to do the little things, like failing to protect the weak side on the winning basket against Marquette."
Marquette rally
The Marquette game Feb. 2 really summed up the Red Raiders' season.
Danny Sayles and Darrell Bowie, the mainstays of the Tosa East offense, each scored eight points for an 18-14 first-quarter lead. Marquette's John Kopriva scored seven points in the second quarter and Sayles six, as the Red Raiders took a slim 30-29 lead into intermission.
The Red Raiders then got some surprise firepower from senior guard Jake Larson, who drilled three 3-pointers, to give his team a 45-40 lead after three periods.
Marquette senior swingman Mark Haas scored six points in a 13-6 fourth quarter, while the Hilltoppers' defense only allowed a basket by Bowie, two free throws by Vince Cupertino and a free throw by Sayles.
Haas' jumper tied the game at 46-46 with 5:42 left to play. After Sayles hit only one of two free throws, Haas drained two free throws for a 48-47 lead.
Tosa East then made its final run, as Cupertino sank two free throws and Bowie intercepted a pass and scored a basket for a 51-48 lead with 3:13 left to play. Those were to be the Red Raiders' final points of the night.
Kopriva put in a rebound shot and then made one of two free throws to tie the game at 51-51 with 1:28 left to play. After a Tosa East turnover, the Hilltoppers got the ball with 42.4 seconds left to play and ran the clock down.
Quinten Calloway then missed a jumper with four seconds left and it looked like the game was going into overtime, but no one blocked out the Hilltoppers' O'Connor, who was all by himself on the weak side. He grabbed the ball and easily went back and banked in the rebound for a 53-51 lead.
After a time-out, the Red Raiders got the ball in to Bowie, who threw the ball three-quarters of the court. It hit the back of the basket, shot straight in the air, hit the bars holding up the basket - which are out of bounds - and fell through the basket.
As the Tosa students stormed the floor, the officials immediately signaled no basket and the Red Raiders suffered another heartbreaking loss.
Kopriva led all scorers with 19 points, while Haas added 16. Sayles, who only scored two points in the second half, finished with 16 and Bowie added 10.
Bounced back
The Red Raiders then bounced back with a 14-point win over West Allis Central (4-7, 9-10) on Friday, as Bowie scored 21 points and Sayles added 16. Aaron Uden also added eight points.
Tosa East led, 21-14, at intermission, and then increased the lead to 36-26 after three periods. The Red Raiders finally had a great night from the free-throw line, hitting 28 of 30 for a .933 success rate.
Looking at the close losses, Arndorfer didn't lay all the blame on the players.
"There are one or two things we have to look at as a staff," he said. "I'm learning as well. This is only my third year. There are times I would like to put on a uniform. There are little things we all have to get better with.
"We need to do a better job of showing them. It falls on my shoulders why we're not better."
The Red Raiders host last-place and winless West Allis Hale (0-11, 0-18) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
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