Top Performers in Boys Basketball from December 1-6

The junior guard made 18 of 28 shots en route to 38 points as the Tigers won 106-43 over Coulee Christian. Backaus came into his junior season having already scored 1,006 points over his first two seasons.

Doedens started his sophomore season off extremely well in DeForest’s 64-40 win over Sun Prairie East. He went for 23 points and 8 rebounds in the Norskies’ opening victory.

Farley was efficient scoring the ball in a 73-35 win over Twin City Home School. The junior was 16 of 22 from the field, finishing with 32 points. He added 15 rebounds, 9 steals, and 3 blocks.

Smith had back-to-back outings on Monday and Tuesday night. In a 97-33 win over Random Lake on Monday, the sophomore sharpshooter had 32 points. He followed that up with 36 in a 76-38 win over Gibraltar on Tuesday. Between the two games, Smith was 15 of 33 (45%) from deep. Teammate Ethan Fromm had 21 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists in the victory on Monday, nearly recording a triple-double.

Barrows was nearly perfect from the field as he led Eau Claire North to an 85-51 win over La Crosse Logan on Tuesday night. The senior leader of the Huskies finished with 32 points on 13 of 15 shooting, while also going six of seven from deep.

Benish is one of the top shooters in the state, playing on a team that is coming off a state tournament appearance. He’s a proven scorer and displayed that in the L-Cats’ 76-48 opening game victory over Evansville. In doing so, Benish surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his prep career.

Castillo had a break out performance in game one of his senior year as Greendale downed West Bend East 79-23. Playing behind Devin Isaj in terms of production last year, Castillo is now the go-to scorer with the Panthers. He netted 33 points and 9 rebounds in the opening game victory.

One of the marquee matchups of the night lived up to the hype as Waterford came away with a 59-56 victory over Division 2, top-ranked Wauwatosa West in thrilling fashion. Gustafson provided the moment as he buried an off-balance, buzzer beating, three. The Northern Michigan recruit finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists along with a moment that he’ll never forget.

Hereford continued his torrid pace to start his senior year in a 102-45 victory over Obama SCTE. The lightning quick lead guard scored 40 points on 16 of 23 shooting for the Purple Knights. His efficiency didn’t end with his scoring, as Hereford added six rebounds and seven assists.

Hook and the Oregon Panthers picked up an impressive 86-75 victory over Pewaukee in their first game of the year. The senior guard led his group with 35 points, a new career high.

Ivy had a moment to remember in his second game with his new team. The senior lead guard took the ball up, tied at 56 with Stevens Point and 6.5 seconds left on the clock. After a few dribbles and sizing up the defender, Ivy pulled up from 25 feet and buried the game winning shot at the buzzer to lead Bay Port to a second straight win to open up the season. He finished with 15 points.

Jones and the Dominican Knights got head coach Nick Ford his first win in game one with the new team. Jones, one of the top players in the Class of 2026, finished with 30 points and seven rebounds in an 85-76 victory over Brown Deer in one of the top games of the night.

Manchester scored 30-plus for the second straight game to start his senior campaign. One of the top unsigned players in the Class of 2026, netted 36 points in the Vikings’ 93-64 win over Platteville. With that output, Manchester sits just two points shy of 2,000 in his prep career, a milestone he’ll blow past in a home game with Reedsburg on Friday.

Michalski needed 29 points to get to 1,000 in his career and he did just that in a 68-48 win over Washburn on Tuesday night. The senior wing hit the milestone and led his team to victory.

Miggins did all he could to will Marshall to a victory, though the Cardinals fell short 88-80 to Poynette in the teams’ opening contest. The junior guard finished with a career high 39 points in the loss.

Misslich got his senior year off with a bang as Franklin knocked off Milwaukee Reagan 70-63. The senior guard poured in 35 points for the Sabers, a team that is one of the top contenders in the Southeast Conference.

Paul was a creator with the ball in his hands as Big Foot captured an opening 80-59 win over Williams Bay. The senior guard poured in 31 points and 10 assists for the Chiefs.

In a game I sat on the opposing bench of, Schwartz impressed in just his second varsity game. At 6-3, he’s extremely physical, has a good shooting touch, and very good motor and displayed that as Viroqua knocked off my Richland Center Hornets 45-37. Schwartz finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Blackhawks.

Zavatchin has the season high for points scored in the state through the first couple weeks after Oostburg won 88-54 in the season opener. The senior forward was 18 of 24 from the field and netted 45 points in the victory.

With the Warhawks down one against a very talented Brookfield Central squad, Walters took a sideline inbound pass, dribbled to the free throw line, and buried the eventual game-winning mid-range jumper with 1.6 seconds left on the clock.

Thursday night a pair of coaches in the state crossed a career milestone with regards to wins. Matt Klarner got to 300 wins, all at Xavier while Troy LaVallie of Cameron also his the 300-win mark with the Comets. Congratulations to both Coach Klarner and LaVallie on the incredible accomplishment.

We had a handful of game winners on Thursday night. Eli Derenne of Luxemburg-Casco hit a layup to give the Spartans a 59-57 win over Little Chute. Emmitt Stiles also had a game-winning layup in Almond-Bancroft’s 36-34 victory over Tri-County. Ben Baker buried a three at the buzzer for Saint Mary’s Springs in a 53-50 win over Omro. Lastly, Brandon Slatky beat the buzzer for Gillet in a 40-38 win over Wausaukee.

Bowers had to wait until Thursday to get his first varsity action, but made an instant impact in Kaukauna’s 92-52 win over Appleton West. The son of new head coach Ryan Bowers, Drew had 17 points and went five of nine from beyond the arc for the Galloping Ghosts.

Colbert has been on a torrid hot streak to begin his senior campaign at Golda Meir. That stayed the course Thursday in a 94-69 victory over Milwaukee South. Colbert, son of head coach Emmitt Colbert, had 43 points in the victory, going 7 of 16 from three. He added six rebounds, four assists, and seven steals.

Farley has been a double-double machine to start the year, but one-upped that production in a 58-49 win over Lena. The junior had 31 points, 10 rebounds, and added 13 steals to record a triple-double. Freshman and younger brother Lucas Farley added 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.

Hansen was dominant as Hayward picked up a good 84-74 victory over Saint Croix Falls. He poured in 25 points, 17 rebounds, and 4 assists for the Hurricanes, who opened with a win and are a pick to challenge in the heart O’North this year.

James-Allen was a stat sheet stuffer despite the Rams losing to Milwaukee South 94-69. The senior wing had 43 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 steals as he did everything in his power to keep Pulaski competitive.

Marks and Seymour got an impressive 73-67 opening season win over Notre Dame on Thursday night. A favorite in Division 3, the Thunder got a big performance from their senior leader in game one. Marks had a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds for Seymour.

Ramczyk had a huge game and was a catalyst to Coach Klarner getting win number 300 on Thursday night. The Hawks won 104-59 over Green Bay West and Ramcyzk had a career first. He totaled 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in the win, recording his first career triple-double.

Gerke can score with the best of them and has now just a junior has crossed the 1,000 point mark in the first game of his junior campaign. Gerke netted 18 points in a 71-57 loss to West Salem on Friday night.

Gwinn has done a great job of leading Park to a 3-0 start to the 2025-26 season. Friday night was a career night for the senior guard as he scored 43 points in an 84-59 win over Racine Horlick. Gwinn added seven rebounds and five assists for the Panthers.

Hoeser helped Neillsville to a 71-27 win over Pacelli on Friday night and in doing so hit a milestone in his prep career. He scored 16 points for the Warriors, surpassing the 1,000 point mark.

Lyon needed to play superman on Friday night and did just that, leading the Whippets to an 87-80 victory over Jefferson. The senior had a new best 44 points and 11 rebounds. Lyon was 8 of 14 from deep.

Manchester came into this season as the highest returning scorer in both points per game from a year ago as well as career points. Friday night he became the first of the year to cross the 2,000 point mark. It didn’t take him long as he needed just two points to hit that threshold against Reedsburg.

There is a new high point scorer this season as Medina poured in 49 points in the Raccoon’s 94-85 win over Mukwonago on Friday night. The junior guard buried nine triples in the victory, doing damage from deep, on the dribble, and at the free throw line.

Wisconsin Dells has been the team to beat in the South Central for a long time. Mauston has always been competitive and had talented individuals that push the Chiefs. Friday night the Golden Eagles had to have one of the biggest margin of victory wins over the Dells in a long while, winning 68-36. Navis had 23 points and 20 rebounds, as the sophomore continues to grow on the court.

Nystrom was lights out from deep in Assumption’s 68-41 win over Chequamegon. The senior sharpshooter scored a new high 38 points for the Royals. What’s most impressive is the fact he went 10 of 11 from deep.

Like many on this list, Risler can flat out score the ball. In a 99-27 win over Ladysmith, he had it going from deep, going 8 of 12 from beyond the arc, en route to 41 points.

Earlier this week Zavatchin went for 45 points in a Flying Dutchmen victory. On Friday night he became the schools’ leading scorer in a 64-38 win over Kewaskum. Zavatchin has 1,710 career points and has a great chance to hit the 2,000 point mark by season’s end.

Dahlke missed his first two shots of the game for the Foxes, but found the bottom of the net every shot after as FVA took home a 74-52 win over Waupaca. The senior finished with 29 points on 12 of 14 shooting, adding 8 rebounds in the victory.

Kern had himself a weekend. Friday the senior wing hit a game-winning, buzzer beater, three pointer to beat cross-town rival New Berlin Eisenhower. Saturday, Kern scored his 1,000th point as West beat East Troy 64-54.

Schmidgall is the epitome of a stat sheet stuffer. The lanky junior does it all for the Crickets, showcasing all of his abilities in a 73-37 win over Glenwood City. He finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 steals. Defensively he was a difference maker as well, tallying 7 blocks and 2 steals.

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