Posted: Dec. 21, 2009

If visiting Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan saw the ferocious Michael Jordan-esque, tomahawk jam that Menomonee Falls' forward J.P. Tokoto used late in the fourth quarter as a punctuation mark on the Indians 88-67 win over visiting rival Germantown on Saturday, he didn't let on.

He remained his inscrutable self, sitting in the corner of the Falls gym, keeping a been-there-done-that expression firmly planted on his face.

The Indians earned revenge on the two-time state-tournament qualifying Warhawks for the two losses they handed them last season, including a loss in the WIAA sectional final.

"It was a personal game for us," said Tokoto, who finished with a career-high 29 points and an estimated 20 rebounds. "We were looking forward to it all week."

Falls coach Ben Siebert did not downplay the significance of the victory in this latest installment of the Battle of County Line Road.

"This was definitely important," he said. "Regardless of what they lost (to graduation) last year, they are the two-time defending sectional champions and we've got to go through them (if we want to make state). It was our only game of the week and we were ready to go. It was a long, hard week of practice and the guys were happy to be finally playing someone else."

Freedom of the press

That much was evident right from the start as the Indians (6-1 overall) hit the Warhawks (4-3), who were playing their third game of the week, with a withering press that resulted in four straight Germantown turnovers to begin the game.

By the time Indian guard Adam Rubatt drained his 3-pointer from the wing, it was 9-0 and only about a minute and a half had elapsed. The ferocious assault had Germantown coach Steve Showalter remembering the things his Ben Averkamp (now at Loyola)-led Warhawks did to people these past three seasons.

"They put a lot of pressure on up front and they were looking not to give anything up on the backend," he said. "And they had really good stuff tonight. Their depth is a huge help and they may have been quicker than we were (in our primes), but they don't have the big guy at the back-end like we did (Averkamp).

"But that press set the tone. It was relentless and made it difficult for us to get into our offense."

Warhawks use perimeter push

However, Germantown did find a way to get back into the game as the guard line of Zak Showalter (21 points), Malcolm Bowers (18) and Josh Mongan (13) combined for three 3-pointers at the end of the first stanza and closed the gap to 23-17 at the quarter.

Zak Showalter hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 5:34 left in the half to tie the game at 25, but that proved to be the high point for the Warhawks as the Indians depth came to the fore.

Guards C.J. Malone and Jalen Ramey entered the game for Falls and combined for 11 points in the second quarter as the Indians went on a 15-2 run that reasserted their authority at 40-27 with 1:26 remaining in the half.

"We brought them in to spread them out a little and they really did the job," Siebert said of his two underclassmen. "Jalen is so good at driving and slashing."

The margin was 44-31 at the half, and the Warhawks were able to get no closer than 10 in the second session. Falls had a total of 10 players score, including Johnathan Phillips, Conor Cassidy and Rubatt with 10 apiece.

"I think we just hit a wall," said Steve Showalter, whose team earned a tough win over Milwaukee Lutheran the night before. "They (the Indians) were just relentless. I'm not sure that they're that much better than we are, but they do what they want to do very well. They took us out of what we wanted to do."

Which was the plan, said Tokoto, who scored 17 of his 29 in the second half. Tokoto is one of the most highly recruited sophomores in the country and is now getting used to the fact that big-time coaches like Ryan will come visit on a regular basis.

"We practiced all week just for this," Tokoto said. "We were ready. This is the kind of start (6-1) that we planned all along. The loss to King (a few weeks ago) was tough but we're not worried about that anymore. We're flying right now."

UP NEXT

FALLS SCHEDULE: The Indians (6-1) will be in the spotlight when they take part in the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout at the Al McGuire Center on the Marquette University campus Sunday and Monday. They will play Arrowhead (4-0), the state's top-ranked team in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association poll on WisSports.net, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 27, in what is seen as a preview of a WIAA sectional final three months down the road.

The Warhawks, the defending Classic 8 Conference champions last season (17-5), return all five starters including 7-0 center Ben Mills, who has accepted a scholarship to Boise State. The Indians beat the Warhawks in WIAA regional play last season but Arrowhead is predicted by the Yearbook to win the sectional this season.

Then at 9:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 28, the Indians will challenge Catholic Memorial (5-1) back at the Al.

GERMANTOWN SCHEDULE: After taking on Middleton on Tuesday, the Warhawks will be off until 5:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 29, when they go to Kettle Moraine for a one-game tournament against Marquette.