Defense keys East's fast start

It's no secret that this year's Wauwatosa East boys basketball team will rely on defense to be successful. And when you think of Red Raiders defense, senior guard Vince Cupertino usually comes to mind.

Cupertino played a huge roll on Friday as the Red Raiders handed Brookfield East its first loss of the year, 50-36, on the road.

The next day the Red Raiders came back and shut down Wisconsin Lutheran, 53-45, in the NY2LA Tournament at Homestead.

Against the Spartans, Tosa East coach Tim Arndorfer assigned Cupertino, the bulldog defensive player, on Spartans star junior guard Brian Smith. Smith, who was averaging 15.6 points period game in the first three games (3-0), was held to six points by Cupertino.

"We put Vince Cupertino on him. That's about it," Arndorfer said. "He accepts that challenge. We did a nice job on help side as well.

"Vince was up to the task. I said we've got to control him; he's their leading scorer and hopefully the other guys don't hurt us. Vince did a great job."

Brookfield East coach Andy Farley agreed.

"He did a heck of a job," Farley said. "I have a lot of respect for that kid. He does a great job; he's a tough kid. They take their toughness from him. He set the tone in a lot of ways for them."

In a low-scoring first half which is typical of when these two teams battle, the Raiders held an 18-12 lead as both teams couldn't get their shots to drop.

Cupertino didn't slack off on offense, as he scored seven of his points in the first half, as Tosa East held an 18-12 advantage.

"We played very inconsistently on the offensive end," Arndorfer said. "Defensively I really thought we did an excellent job. It allowed us to keep the lead instead of giving it away. We have a lot of things to figure out on the offensive end."

Tosa East went on a 10-0 run sparked by Marquise Carter to start the second half and take a 28-12 lead at the 6:06 mark. Smith helped the Spartans fight back with four points in the final minutes to cut the lead to 30-22.

Spartans point guard Ryan McBride came out and scored on a drive to cut the Red Raiders' lead to 30-24, but then the Raiders went on a 12-4 run to put the game away with a 1:47 left in the game. Anthony Carroll had six points in the fourth quarter to spark the rally.

Cupertino led Tosa East with 10 points, while Bryce Kratzer had nine and Carroll eight. McBride led the Spartans with 11.

Wisconsin Lutheran

Carroll came through big time with the game on the line as Tosa East beat Wisconsin Lutheran, 53-45, in the NY2LA Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

Carroll scored 18 points, all in the second half, including 11 in the final quarter as the Red Raiders rallied from a 22-15 halftime deficit.

"For us, the game was really a tale of two halves offensively," Arndorfer said. "Defensively, we were pretty solid throughout the entire game. We talked at half time about being more aggressive and decisive on the offensive end, and maintaining the solid defense we played in the first half.

"The boys responded really well. A lot of guys made important contributions and that's what we as a coaching staff really enjoy about this team."

Carroll and Carter each scored seven points in the third quarter as East pulled to 35-34 going in the final period. They then outscored the Vikings 19-9 the rest of the way.

"Anthony did a tremendous job of attacking the rim in the second half," Arndorfer said. "We were missing that aggressiveness in the first half and he really provided the offensive spark we needed to take control of the game. He also hit some timely threes and some big free throws down the stretch."

Carter finished with 10 points for Tosa East while Kratzer and Nate Moore added six each.

Arndorfer talked about his team's defense last weekend.

"I think in games when we're struggling to score, we've got to make sure our defense turns things into easy baskets," he said.

Cupertino agreed.

"We have to get transition buckets. We've got to score on turnovers. That's our goal," he said. "We got some good two-on-ones with Money (Diamonte Mckinley) and AC. It worked out well.

"As soon as we get a lead, we have to step on the gas, get them out of the game so they have no hope to win."

Menomonee Falls

The Red Raiders improved to 3-0 in the GMC, tied for first place with Brookfield Central by rolling over Menomonee Falls, 85-63, at home on Tuesday.

Carroll had 24 points, Carter and Moore had 14 each and Mckinley had 10. JP Tokoto had 31 for the Indians.

East led 36-28 at intermission in a high-scoring game and then expanded the score to 57-45 through three periods. East then blew away the Indians with a 28-18 final quarter.

The Red Raiders (5-0) host Sussex Hamilton (1-2, 2-4) at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.