Huskies' holiday gift: tourney title, confidence

West Allis - A belated Christmas present came for the West Allis Hale boys basketball team last week.

The Huskies gave themselves the championship of their own holiday tournament with victories over Brookfield Academy (71-56) on Dec. 29 and Wilmot (68-61) a day later.

The sweep and tourney crown boosted the Huskies' record to 3-5 entering this week and gave the struggling program a big boost heading into the second portion of the season, which began with a game against Shorewood on Tuesday.

Hale returns to Greater Metro Conference action at 7:30 p.m. Friday at home against Wauwatosa East, which is tied for the GMC lead at 4-0 and lost its first game of the season last week to unbeaten powerhouse Germantown.

"We can feel the momentum building," head coach Kenny Bosch said. "The big thing is the guys trust each other. They also share a familiarity with each other's play."

Many contributors

Bosch added that different players stepped up at different moments during last week's two games.

For example, against Wilmot, Derrick Waller tallied 10 first-quarter points to help the Huskies get off to a 21-16 lead.

Later, when Wilmot held the lead with three minutes remaining, Nick Sotiros scored eight straight points as Hale regained the advantage.

Against Brookfield Academy, Travis Balcerzak helped break open a 32-30 game with his play in the second half.

The Huskies had balanced attacks in both games, led by Balcerzak with 16 points in each contest.

Against Wilmot, Sotiros finished with 14 points, Waller 12 and Steve Kopet 10.

Sotiros also collected 13 points against Brookfield Academy, with Waller adding 11, Peter Heal nine on a trio of 3-point field goals and Kopet eight points.

Positive experience

Bosch liked the fact that the tournament also gave the Huskies a chance to play against two different styles.

Brookfield Academy (4-3 going into this week) uses a run-and-gun approach and put up 25 shots from 3-point range, while Wilmot (4-4) was a bit more controlled.

Overall, Bosch found plenty of positives from his team's play in the tournament.

"We got to the line more consistently than we had been, and we showed mental toughness down the stretch in both games," he said.

Bosch is now hoping the Huskies can build on this success in their return to the rugged GMC.

GMC matchup

What: Tosa East (7-1 overall, 4-0 GMC) vs. Hale (3-5, 0-4)

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Hale

A Red Raider to to watch: Tosa East is a very balanced team that has many players who can step up and have a big game. But junior Anthony Carroll, who is averaging 14 points per game, is the player the Huskies need to shut down - or at least contain - if they want to have a shot in this one.

Fast Fact: With Hale's two wins last week, the Huskies at 3-5 have surpassed the amount of wins it accumulated in the last three years combined. In 2008 Hale went 0-21, in 2009 it finished 0-23 and last year the Huskies posted a 1-22 record.