On the week of January 6-10, the high school boys basketball team had four games in five days. On Monday, the boys took on Solon Springs at home. JV played first at 5:45, and the Varsity played at 7. The JV starters were Leevi Tapani, Matt Knaack, Izzy Rantala, Ethan Helenius, and Conner Helenius. The game was evenly matched, and South Shore set up the plays well. The shots just didn’t fall. Solon ended up winning, with a final score of 29-58. After the game ended, JV knew what they needed to work on at their next practice, so they still benefited from the loss.

The varsity starters for Monday were Doug Hipsher, Bjorn Branham, Jake Winge, Kevin Biolo, and Carter Lulich. They played well and made most of their shots. They won with the final score being 77-65. They actually didn’t play as well as they usually do, but they still won. The game was tighter than it should’ve been toward the end, but South Shore did enough to secure the win.

On Tuesday January 7, the boys basketball team took a two-hour bus ride to Park Falls to play the Chequamegon Screaming Eagles. Although they were tired, they came out strong in the game. The JV starters were the same as the night before. Matt jumped, but Chequamegon got the tip, having a taller player jumping than South Shore. The first half stayed pretty tight for the most part, but South Shore started slipping in the second half. Toward the end of the game, South Shore started putting up shots that fell every possession. Had they had a little more time, South Shore may have won. They lost to Chequamegon at 59-40. The main scorers were Will Watrin and Tad Davidson. 

The varsity starters were Doug Hipsher, Bjorn Branham, Jake Winge, Holden Suo, and Koy Nelson. South Shore won the tip with Doug getting it to Bjorn to draw a foul. The lead went back and forth for most of the game. Chequamegon brought a surprising level of competition, and the score was tight. At halftime, South Shore was up by eight points. It stayed close until the very end. South Shore was down by two points with 1.4 seconds on the clock. They got the ball to Koy for a last second shot attempt, but he was guarded too heavily to make it. They lost with a score of 72-70. The team is going to work hard to make sure that this was their last loss.

After the team’s one day break, they played another game on Thursday. The opponent was Bayfield. The boys went to the Church to eat for free before the game. JV played first at 5:45. The starters were Conner Helenius, Leevi Tapani, Ethan Helenius, Matt Knaack, and Will Watrin. South Shore lost the tip, and Bayfield brought a high level of intensity and competition to the floor. Almost all of Bayfield’s players were shooters who could hit shots from outside the 3-point line. They pressed for almost all of the first half, and South Shore ran their press break against them. The press break worked to get the ball across half-court, but when they tried to go up the lane the ball was stolen. South Shore fixed their offense so that they didn’t drive, they just passed it around the perimeter and tried to get it to the post. By the end of the game, Bayfield won with a score of 19-60. South Shore was able to adapt quickly to what Bayfield was doing, but Bayfield was just the better team tonight. The main scorers for South Shore were Ethan Helenius andWill Watrin. 

Bayfield brought the same intensity to the varsity game. The starters for South Shore were Doug Hipsher, Jake Winge, Koy Nelson, Kevin Biolo, and Bjorn Branham. Throughout the first half both teams fought hard for a lead, and South Shore was up by about 20 points. There was one injury though, Carter Lulich sprained his ankle before halftime and was out for the rest of the game. Right before halftime, Jake Winge threw up a shot and got fouled. He went to the free throw line to shoot three. He made two of the three shots, but everyone found it entertaining that he got fouled on a buzzer beater attempt. In the second half, the score got a little too close for comfort. It was a tight game, and both sides of the bleachers were cheering as loud as they could. The final score was 67-60, with South Shore losing to Bayfield. South Shore played well, especially with one of their players out of the game. The main scorers were Doug Hipsher, Jake Winge, and Koy Nelson. 

The last game of this long week came on Friday. The team played Hurley at home. JV played first, and the starters were Conner Helenius, Leevi Tapani, Ethan Helenius, Will Watrin, and Matt Knaack. South Shore lost the tip, and Hurley pulled ahead quickly in the first half. South Shore continued to play hard. Into the second half, South Shore started gaining ground. By the end of the game, South Shore was making enough points that they could’ve pulled ahead if there had been more time on the clock. Sadly, they lost to Hurley, but they can always learn from the losses. 

The varsity starters were Doug Hipsher, Bjorn Branham, Koy Nelson, Jake Winge, and Holden Suo. The game stayed fairly close for the entire game. The boys were on their game tonight, wanting to beat their biggest competition. At the end of the game, South Shore was up by two points, and they were trying to secure the win. South Shore managed to make four more points and keep Hurley from making any. South Shore won with a final score of 49-43. The boys hollered and celebrated with each other as soon as the clock hit zero.