Trey Keller lifts Kohler past Sheboygan Lutheran in battle of boys basketball unbeatens

KOHLER — The biggest shot in the battle between the undefeated Kohler Blue Bombers and undefeated Sheboygan Lutheran Crusaders boys basketball teams might have come more than 24 hours before Friday’s tip-off.

Kohler’s Trey Keller lost a battle in practice and slammed the ball so hard it bounced through the triangle-shaped rafters and into the hoop.

Blue Bombers coach Ken Roeder turned to his sons sitting at the end of the bench and told them that shot might have been just the thing to get Keller going.

After three-straight poor shooting performances, Keller erupted for a game-high 39 points to lift Kohler (14-0) past Sheboygan Lutheran (12-1), 88-79. It was one point shy of his career high set last season.

Through his first seven games, Keller had shot no worse than 47% from the field but shot 25% or worse in two of the next three before busting out in a big way on Friday.

Rock bottom game when he was 0-for-6 against Random Lake, making two free throws to avoid a goose egg in the box score.

“After my two-point game against Random (Lake) I had a lot of teammates text me and tell me they believed in me,” Keller said. “My teammates lifted me up.”

Roeder says Keller was putting too much on his shoulders.

“He had a real nice game tonight, that’s how I think he was hoping to play all year long,” Roeder said. “I think he’s been putting too much pressure on himself so tonight I think he relaxed and trusted his teammates.”

When it comes down to it, Roeder and Keller say nothing has changed and the senior is just determined to get better.

“Throughout practice I just shot more,” Keller said. “I’d been losing my confidence before in each game and my main focus was to bring my confidence back.”

Added Roeder.

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“I think he got sick of playing the way he was playing,” Roeder said. “He felt like it was all on his shoulders but it clearly isn’t.”

The Blue Bombers led much of the game by double digits, including using a 12-0 run to begin the second half to take a 17-point lead.

Despite that, the Crusaders battled back and trimmed the deficit to three points with 80 seconds remaining in the game.

“The credit of our guys to fight back down 17 and got within three with a buck and change left,” Sheboygan Lutheran coach Nick Verhagen said. “We could have easily lost that game by double digits but we didn’t.”

Andrew Krueger, who finished with a team-high 24 points, made four of his five 3-pointers after halftime to give the Crusaders a lift.

“Later in the season teams are only going to get tougher so games like tonight are where we really find out who we are as a team,” Krueger said.

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With the game on the line, Keller went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final minute to put the game away.

“It was a great battle, a great high school environment,” Verhagen said. “The crowds were both into it, which is how it should be. Trey was special tonight.”

That atmosphere helped spark the Blue Bombers according to Keller.

“I think the atmosphere was a lot bigger than most games,” Keller said. “As a team we really used that energy to play our game.”

Verhagen says Lutheran’s defense is what turned the game around late, something Roeder agreed with and he’s excited to try and fix for the future.

“We had some uncharacteristic turnovers against the press which is really cool because it gives us something to work on in practice,” Roeder said with a smile. “For the most part I was happy with our resilience.”

Ranked No. 6 in Division 4 according to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association, Kohler has lofty goals this season and games such as Friday’s battle with Lutheran is just what they need to make those goals a reality Roeder says.

“You can’t play in those situations unless you’ve been in those situations,” Roeder said. “We probably won’t finish the year 24-0 but this one feels really nice for our guys.”

Verhagen too, is ready for the rematch at the Crusaders home on Feb. 16.

“I’m excited to have them again and I think they are excited to see us too,” Verhagen said. “I think we make each other better.”

Contact Tom Dombeck at 920-686-2965 or tdombeck@htrnews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @Tom_Dombeck.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: In battle of boys basketball unbeatens, Kohler tops Sheboygan Lutheran