By NICK BRILOWSKI
Special to The Gazette
The Pacelli boys' basketball team had plenty of advanced warning on what to expect from Shiocton on Tuesday night at the Student Activities Center - a heavy dose of Pete Warning.
That's exactly what the Cardinals got as the 6-6 senior center scored 14 of the Chiefs' 15 points in the fourth quarter en route to a dominating 43-point performance as Shiocton held off Pacelli, 65-61.
"I never would have thought he had that many points," Pacelli head coach Jody Hauser commented after the game. "We just couldn't stop him."
Despite being at a distinct size disadvantage, the Cardinals (1-2 overall, 1-1 CWC) scratched and clawed their way into hanging with the Central Wisconsin Large preseason favorite.
Using a run-and-gun style of play, Pacelli looked to turn the game into a track meet in order to neutralize the Chiefs' edge in height.
"For us to be successful we have to get after it and then when we get the ball, we have to run," Hauser said. "We're getting better as a running team, but we still have a ways to go."
With the game tied 8-8 in the first quarter, Shiocton went on a 14-2 run over the remainder of the opening eight minutes and into the second quarter to take a 22-10 lead.
However, Pacelli showed its resolve using an 11-3 run behind seven points by Brad Heeg to cut the Chiefs' lead to 29-26 with three minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Cardinals were unable to muster any further offense for the remainder of the quarter as Shiocton took a 32-26 lead into halftime.
Shiocton led throughout the third quarter and held a 50-42 advantage with one minute remaining when Pacelli reeled off six straight points.
Heeg capped the run with a short jumper that beat the third quarter buzzer to cut the Cards' deficit to two, 50-48, heading into the final eight minutes.
The teams exchanged leads throughout the final period, with Pacelli holding a precarious 56-54 edge with 3:35 remaining.
But Warning scored six straight points to give the visitors a 60-56 lead with 1:51 to go in regulation. Jake Owens scored on a lay-up at 1:29 to cut the lead back to two.
Following a Shiocton timeout, the Chiefs perfectly executed an in-bounds play from in front of their own bench as Warning scored on a lay-up to push the lead back to four with 1:14 remaining.
Moments later, Owens' jumper from the right baseline was off the mark. Shiocton rebounded and forced the Cardinals to foul five times in order to send the Chiefs into the bonus.
Shiocton hit three of four free throws the rest of the way to help seal the road victory.
Despite the loss, Hauser was pleased with his team's effort.
"I'm real proud of these kids," Hauser said. "We knew getting rebounds would be difficult.
"As a coach, you're never satisfied with a loss, but I'm still happy with the way we played," Hauser said.
Heeg led Pacelli with 21 points, all coming in the first three quarters, while Owens chipped in with 14. Brent Zurawski led the Cardinals with seven rebounds.
Pacelli will return to action on Monday when it travels to Westfield.