Schwartz shoots down Seymour at the buzzer

SEYMOUR - The clock was winding down and Cody Schwartz knew he had to put up the shot, so the 6-foot-7 sophomore launched a 3-pointer from the top of the key extended that hit nothing but the bottom of the net.

The buzzer then sounded and Schwartz was joined by his teammates and fans on the court for a celebration as West De Pere topped Seymour, 66-63, in a battle of perfect teams in the Bay Conference on Tuesday.

“Coach drew up a play and I think they were in zone,” said Schwartz, describing the final play. “I saw there was about five seconds left and I just told my point guard to give me the ball, and kind of dribbled around to find the best shot I could.”

Schwartz’s shot one-upped Seymour’s Sandy Cohen, who on the previous possession made what at the time was the shot of the game. Trailing, 63-59, Cohen drilled a 3-pointer and was fouled. He made the free throw, settting up Schwartz’s heroics.

“It was a huge play by Sandy," Schwartz said. "We just tried to keep our head in the game … it worked out for us.”

It did, but before Schwartz's shot sunk the Thunder, Phantoms coach Andy Werner called timeout with 8.7 seconds left and drew up a play for Schwartz. As it turned out, Werner said it was all Schwartz.

“We thought they would play 1-3-1 but they surprised us with a 2-3,” Werner said. “It threw off our play a little bit, but we still had a screen for Cody in the corner. Honestly, it was more of him making a play then a great draw by me.

“Cody’s our guy. I don’t think anyone would do anything different. I just wanted to give him a chance.”

Schwartz’s shot put an exclamation point on quite a game for the Phantoms. Seymour, ranked No. 2 in the FOX 11 Top 11 boys basketball poll, opened a 35-23 lead midway through the second quarter and appeared to be on its way to another Bay victory.

However, the No. 7 Phantoms, who split two games with the Thunder last season, weren’t about to wilt. West De Pere closed the gap to 38-31 at halftime then played a zone defense the entire second half and that had a profound effect on the game.

Early on, Seymour’s junior tandem of Dakota Oskey and Cohen were having their way and scored 20 of the team’s 22 first-quarter points against West De Pere’s man-to-man defense.

In the second half, West De Pere moved primarily to a 1-3-1 zone and it slowed down Oskey and Cohen. They combined to score just 10 second-half points.

“They were on fire in the first quarter,” Werner said. “We just tried to switch it up. We switch up defenses and it depends on the teams.”

The win has West De Pere on top of the Bay all alone, which says something since Seymour has won the last four Bay titles.  What also says something is West De Pere ended Seymour’s 32-game home winning streak against conference teams.

Its last home loss in Bay play was to New London, 70-60, Jan. 13, 2009.

“It’s great to win on their floor,” Werner said. “I know they’ve had an incredible streak in the conference. They play well in here.”

Tuesday, West De Pere played a little better and Schwartz put on a show in front of Green Bay coach Brian Wardle who has offered the sophomore a scholarship.

“This is a huge win,” Schwartz said. “I don’t expect Seymour to lose any conference games. We had to win this game to be contenders in the conference.

“I just play to win every time.”

• 3-pointers: West De Pere hosts Seymour on Feb. 15, the final game of the regular season. … Casey Jefson added 12 points for the Thunder, while Jesse Owens had 16 points for West De Pere. … Schwartz was called for a technical foul in the first quarter for hanging on the rim after a dunk.
• Game ball: Schwartz, who was clutch for the Phantoms.
• Numbers game: 0 Losses for West De Pere in the Bay.

WEST DE PERE 66, SEYMOUR 63
West De Pere….16  15  18  17  -  66
Seymour………..22  16  10  15  -  63

West De Pere (11-1, 8-0): Chandler Diekvoss 11, Cody Schwartz 23, Jacob Kocken 8, Conno Konshak 6, Jesse Owens 16, Aaron Fink 2. 3-pointers: 8 (Schwartz 3, Owens 4, Diekvoss 1). Totals: 22 14-14 66.
Seymour (12-2, 7-1): Dakota Oskey 17, Sandy Cohen 21, Casey Jefson 12, Brian Heiden 7, Alex Buchholtz 4, John Powless 2. 3-pointers: 9 (Oskey 2, Cohen 3, Jefson 4). Totals: 22 10-14 63.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

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