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Winnebago Boys bounce back from loss to Princeton
By Trenten Scheidegger
The Winnebago Indians went 11-5 after getting off to an 0-2 start on the 2022-23 boys’ basketball season. Their ability to bounce back has been a common theme all season, and that remained true last week.
On Jan. 14, the Indians made the trip to face off with the Princeton Tigers. At the time, the Tigers held a record of 17-0 and were the top ranked team in all of Illinois Class 2A basketball. Despite being outranked and outsized, the Indians still showed up to put on a fight.
Winnebago matched the Tigers point for point in the opening quarter. Eventually, the Indians went into the second feeling good, tied at 11-11. Winnebago knew they were going to be able to compete with the top ranked Tigers.
The second quarter went even more in the Indians’ favor. Winnebago managed to outscore the Tigers 10-8, putting them in the lead at the halftime break. Ray Maurchie, who was coming off a 14 point, 17 rebound double double in his previous game, was leading the way for the Indians.
The duo of Maurchie and Brody Larson helped the Indians maintain a slim lead until midway through the third quarter. That’s where things began to spiral for Winnebago.
“This was a very physical game in the second half.” Winnebago head coach, Joe Murphy, explained. That was evident in the stat sheet, and it wound up being a deciding factor in the game. Princeton got to the line a multitude of times, hitting 15 of their 23 free throw attempts. Winnebago hit just two of their five free throw attempts, in what looked like a lopsided competition.
The physical second half swayed the game in Princeton’s favor as the Indians eventually fell by a score of 45-34. Maurchie led the way with 14 points, while Larson was next up with nine. The loss should have left a sour taste in the Indians’ mouth, and by the looks of their next game, it did.
Just two days later, Winnebago was looking to turn the page as they began a new week with a Jan. 16 matchup against the Sycamore Spartans. Sycamore came into the matchup with a record of 8-11, as the Indians were the favorites in this one.
Records aside, the Indians came in looking to do what they had done all year, which is bounce back. Despite being on the road once again, the Indians put on a show in the first quarter. Winnebago combined for 19 points in the opener, while holding Sycamore to just nine. It was exactly the type of quarter the Indians needed as they jumped out to a double-digit lead.
The second quarter would only grow Winnebago’s lead as they outscored the Spartans 14-5. The Indians found plenty of offensive production in this one as they had four players over seven points. It was Maurchie who led the way once again as he nearly posted another double double with 21 points and nine rebounds. Jaden Horton was next up with nine points, while Will Speitz finished with eight. Larson added seven points as the Indians picked up the 55-41 victory.
It was Winnebago’s 12th win of the season as they improved their record to 12-7. The Indians were also 2-0 in conference play.
On Jan. 26, the Indians will travel to face off with Dixon. As of Jan. 20, Dixon was 14-7 on the year, and they’ll prove to be another tough opponent for Winnebago.
