East whips Hale, Blackshirts

Although the Wauwatosa West victory was the highlight of the week for the Red Raiders boys basketball fans, the most important win for them actually came Friday night.

The Red Raiders' 66-40 win at last-place West Allis Hale (0-5, 3-7) kept them unbeaten in the Greater Metro Conference (5-0) for their game with Brookfield Central (5-0) on Friday at home (see separate story).

The Red Raiders used a 17-8 first quarter to lead to roll into halftime with a 33-19 advantage, but the Huskies zone caused some early problems according to coach Tim Arndorfer. Tosa East came out strong in the third period (16-9) and went into the final quarter with a 49-28 lead.

"They used a lot of zone and slowed us down," he said. "It took us a while to get going. Eventually our defense turned it up, however. We got some easy baskets out of that."

A similar pattern continued as the Red Raiders put 10 players in the scorebook, led by juniors Marquise Carter and Nate Moore, each with 15 points. Diamonte Mckinley also was in double figures with 10 points.

"Nate Moore and Marquise Carter really sparked us," Arndorfer said. "It's been kind of neat - a different guy every night for us."

Travis Balcerzak led all scorers with 16 points.

Waukesha South

Tosa East led 22-20 with two minutes left in the half and went on a 9-0 run to close out the first half and roll to a 66-36 victory Jan. 3 in a non-conference game at Waukesha South (1-8).

Tosa East led South, 31-21, at intermission and then went on a 14-4 run in the third quarter to put the game away.

The Red Raiders showed off their depth as 12 players scored, with senior Vinnie Cupertino and junior Anthony "AC" Carroll leading the way with nine points each.

Arndorfer praised the Red Raiders increased defensive pressure, rebounding and transition game in the second half.

- Tom 'Sky' Skibosh