SHULLSBURG – As pleased as he’s been about his team’s 7-0 start, Shullsburg boys’ basketball coach Mark Lierman knows there is still room for improvement for the #2-ranked Miners.
    Shullsburg took to their home court on back-to-back nights and showed their coach they were ready to do the little things right as they rolled over Benton, 80-25, in Six Rivers West play on Friday, Jan. 6, and then came back 24 hours later and defeated Galena, 79-43, in non-conference action.
    “After Southwestern, we sat down and had a heart to heart about doing the little things and playing with a little bit more tenacity but with good technique. I thought we really showed that against Benton,” said Coach Lierman. “We did some really good things defensively and took them out of their game right away. They have a young group and they played hard, but we did what we’re supposed to do. Even when we subbed, there was no drop off.”
    The Miners (9-0 overall, 4-0 SRW) used a group of scoring bursts to pull away from the Zephyrs (4-6, 1-4) in Friday night’s victory at SHS.
    A 3-pointer by junior guard Cameron Doyle kicked off a 9-0 run by the Miners that snapped a 4-4 tie and, after Benton Brooks Tiedeman ended that run with a basket at the 10:46 mark of the first half, Doyle added another trey during a 10-0 run that put the Miners up 23-6.
    Aaron Coffey’s basket with under eight minutes to play in the half brought the Zephyrs back within 23-8, but the Miners followed with 18 unanswered points to extend their advantage to 41-8. Senior Lance Lierman and Noah Wand sank 3s during the streak, while fellow senior Joey Meyer brought down a thundering dunk for the hosts.
    Shullsburg held a 43-11 lead at the intermission, and then open the second half on a 17-2 run to build up a 60-13 cushion before rolling to a 55-point decision.
    Meyer scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. Lierman added eight of his 14 points in the first half and Doyle hit two treys in each half to finish with a career-high 12 points.
    Senior Hunter Matye chipped in with nine points, while sophomore Alex Wand scored a season-high eight points off the bench and his older brother, Noah, followed with seven points.
    Back at home on Saturday night, the Miners trailed the visiting Pirates 10-9 early until getting a spark off the bench from Doyle and senior forward Jeremiah Bailey.
    A 3-pointer by Doyle put the Miners ahead to stay and kicked off a 24-8 scoring run that turned a one-point deficit into a 33-18 lead. Doyle added a basket after the Pirates (7-10) trimmed the gap to 16-14, and Bailey netted four baskets during the run to fuel the Shullsburg scoring outburst.
    N. Wand scored the Miners final 10 points of the opening half, including back-to-back 3s late in the period, to send Shullsburg into the locker room with a 41-25 lead; and he dropped in another 3 to start the second half to push the lead to 19.
    The Miners went on to outscore the Pirates the rest of the way to run away with a 36-point victory.
    Meyer poured in 15 points in the second half to lead the Miners with a season-high 21 points. N. Wand tallied 13 of his season-high 16 points in the first half, while Bailey finishe with 14 points.
    Lierman scored nine points and Doyle added eight.

Benton…………... 11   14 – 25
Shullsburg……… 43   37 – 80
    Benton – Jansen 4, Coffey 4, Wagner 6, Tiedeman 6, Mowry 3, O’Neill 2. Totals – 11  1-1  25.
    Shullsburg – Lance Lierman 14, Alex Wand 8, Hunter Matye 9, Jeremiah Bailey 6, Noah Wand 7, Nate Wedige 4, Joey Meyer 18, Cameron Doyle 12, William Martin 2. Totals – 33  7-12  80.
    3-point goals– B 2 (Wanger 1, Mowry 1), S 7 (Lierman 1, Matye 1, N. Wand 1, Doyle 4). Total fouls– B 11, S 7. Fouled out– none.
 
Galena……………. 25   18 – 43
Shullsburg………. 41   38 – 79
    Galena – C. Bauer 2, Hyde 7, Kruse 7, Holland 24, D. Bauer 1, Linear 2. Totals – 18  5-9  43.
    Shullsburg – Lance Lierman 9, Alex Wand 3, Hunter Matye 4, Jeremiah Bailey 14, Noah Wand 16, Nate Wedige 4, Joey Meyer 21, Cameron Doyle 8. Totals – 29  15-19  79.
    3-point goals– G 2 (Hyde 1, Holland 1), S 6 (N. Wand 4, Doyle 2). Total fouls– G 17, S 15. Fouled out– G: Spillane.