HOWARD — After falling to West De Pere (15-5) earlier this season, the Bay Port Pirates (16-5) returned the favor with a hard fought 58-54 victory, evening the season series at 1-1 in a matchup filled with physical play and momentum swings.
Bay Port wasted no time setting the tone, jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the opening minutes. But West De Pere responded quickly, flipping the script to take a 19-15 advantage with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Pirates regrouped and closed the half on a strong run, building a 32-22 lead before heading into the locker room up 34-24.
Even with the cushion, Bay Port knew the game was far from over.
“You have to have a lot of toughness and grit,” head coach Nate Rykal said. “You've got to be able to bring it at every minute. You know, we got up kind of big, and then they clawed back. They have a lot of toughness and we just had to prove that we had more.”
The Pirates extended their lead to 46-36 with nine minutes left in the second half, but the Phantoms continued to chip away. Behind 18 points from Payton Woldt and 15 from Jack Wilichowski, West De Pere made it a one possession game down the stretch.
Bay Port senior JT Meyer led all Pirates scorers with 19 points, while Sawyer Durkee added 11 in a balanced offensive effort. More importantly, the Pirates limited the careless mistakes that hurt them in the first game.
“The first time they kicked us in the mouth and it wasn't a really good feeling,” Durkee said. “So this time we wanted to make it a little bit more competitive and obviously we did that. We were way tougher this time around. Too many careless turnovers of the ball leading them to free baskets and our defense wasn't where we wanted it to be the first time around so this time we ramped up the defense and controlled the ball more so that definitely helped the pace of the game for us.”
Late free throws and defensive stops sealed the win for Bay Port, as the Pirates executed in the closing moments to prevent another comeback.
“I think we did a great job of making our free throws at the end,” Rykal said. “That helped us win the game.”
Durkee echoed the emphasis on toughness and discipline.
“Like I said, playing tougher both offensively and defensively, taking care of the ball and not letting them have their way offensively and make them kind of beat us themselves,” he said.
With the matchup settled for the regular season, Bay Port now shifts its focus to Notre Dame Academy next week. The Pirates believe there is unfinished business waiting for them.
“I think the mindset is we owe them one,” Rykal said. “I think we let one slip away with them last time.”
Durkee added that preparation will center on sharpening their offense against a strong defensive opponent.
“They have a really good defense, so we're going to practice offense more and just kind of make sure we're fundamentally sound there,” Durkee said.
Friday’s win showed growth from the Pirates since their first meeting with West De Pere. In a matchup that delivered another tight finish, Bay Port proved it could respond, adjust and close out a tough opponent when it mattered most.
Both Bay Port and West De Pere will hit the road next week to face Notre Dame Academy, with the Phantoms traveling there on Tuesday and the Pirates following on Friday.
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