Panthers stifled by Vikings

Greendale - New Berlin West senior Dan Sidesky was handed a tough assignment this year: be the team's leader after the Vikings graduated eight seniors.

Sidesky rose to the occasion to deliver a crushing four-point play midway through the third quarter to swing the momentum back to West as it cruised past Greendale, 58-34, on the road Friday.

"There was no doubt that was the biggest play in the game," said Greendale coach Ryan Fiet. "We totally fell apart after that play."

After two quick baskets by Greendale seniors Jacob Sisler and Shawn Markham cut the deficit to eight at 26-18 to open the second half, the Panthers lost sight of Sidesky and he made them pay. Vikings senior Dino Poulos drove into the lane and dished it out to a wide-open Sidesky, who made the 3-pointer and was fouled as Markham ran to contest the shot.

After his four-point play, the Vikings broke the game open with a 19-4 run to close the third quarter in large part to a suffocating non-stop, full-court defense.

Greendale (2-3 overall, 2-1 in the Woodland Conference going into this week) committed six turnovers in the third quarter before crossing midcourt, leading to 10 quick points for West, which pushed its lead to 22 points at 42-20.

"Our problem was we came down the court every time trying to tie the game up on one possession," said Fiet. "We really rushed some shots and were not in a good position to get any kind of a rebound.

"As for their press, that's just us being undisciplined. We ran through press break all week."

Greendale had won its last two games after dropping its first two of the season.

"Not being able to carry over a game for 32 minutes after a few victories is disappointing," said Fiet. "In terms of playing a disciplined team, that was the most disciplined team we have played all season."

Jordan Perez tallied nine points and Alex Noggle eight points to pace Greendale, which welcomes Cudahy at 7:30 p.m. Friday and travels to Pewaukee at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 20.