Daulton Bauer led the way in JWP's game against Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial on Tuesday, December 2, with 21 points on the night. The win helped JWP obtain a top-five ranking in Class A this week.
The Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton boys’ basketball team is looking to build upon their 2024-25 season while also keeping up with the girls’ team, who are on a 4-0 start themselves.
A 3-0 start where they’ve outscored their opponents by an average of 24 points is exactly what they were looking for. The fantastic start also propelled the team into the top five of Class A rankings. According to Prep Hoops, as of Tuesday, December 9, the JWP boys are ranked #5 in Class A. To give an idea of how good a spot they are in on the rankings, they are currently ranked above Dawson-Boyd, a team that reached the Class A state championship last season.
The Bulldog boys started with one road game at Minnesota Valley Lutheran on Monday, December 1, defeating the Chargers 78-48. They hosted a tough Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial team that always had their number in recent years on Tuesday, December 2, taking home a 51-44 victory against their Knights. They capped the week with a 104-69 defeat of the Randolph Rockets, scoring in the triple digits for the first time since Monday, February 20, 2022, when they defeated the Cleveland Clippers on the road 105-41.
Bulldogs 78, Chargers 48
Despite the result, the Bulldogs started behind 9-4. Junior Gavin Weedman hit a three-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within one score. From there, though, the high-scoring affair went in the Bulldogs’ favor.
At about 2:30 left in the second half, it was 39-24, and sophomore Tyson Kronbach deflected a pass, with the intended target falling to the floor after reaching for the pass, giving Kronbach a clean break at the basket. Fellow sophomore Gavin Bauer hit a buzzer-beater just inside the three-point line to make it 47-26 in favor of JWP at halftime.
The boys continued pouring it on in the second half, with senior Daulton Bauer putting on a three-pointer to extend JWP’s lead to 56-32. Less than a minute later, just after JWP scored, MVL was caught flat-footed as they set up a pass from the end of the court to put the ball in play, and Weedman took a chance for the scoop and score. The cameraman operating the Chargers’ livestream didn’t even catch it in time, as they had already pointed the camera at center court.
The boys continued using their speed and defensive IQ to steal and block passes, sometimes even cashing them in on fast breaks. The Gavins – Bauer and Weedman – were notably great at generating points from steals and blocks. Even Daulton Bauer took advantage of a pass that went between two Chargers players for a fast break, setting up the mercy rule at 71-36.
Gavin Bauer was the leader in this one by many metrics, scoring 28 points, seven rebounds, four steals, and three blocks. Daulton Bauer had 22 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Caleb Quast had a dozen points and three steals, with Weedman netting eleven and a trio of steals.
Bulldogs 51, Knights 44
The Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial Knights came out with aggression early. However, both teams were finding difficulty hitting baskets. LCWM had more luck on three-pointers, though. Despite JWP taking back the lead here and there, the Knights went on an 11-2 run to take the 16-11 lead. Solid defense and the occasional bucket going in kept JWP within it, despite being behind 27-24.
LCWM’s size, matched with their aggression, put JWP behind by near double-digits early in the second half. It also seemed like, at some points, the Knights were allowed to be as pushy as they wanted to be to prevent shots from going off.
So, what did JWP do? Just keep shooting.
More shots helped them adjust the sights, as more baskets went in and momentum started to shift in their favor. That, along with stellar, smart defense, allowed JWP to force a 37-37 gridlock with less than six minutes left in the game.
One of Lake Crystal’s players seemed to be too casual with the dribbling, as Daulton Bauer took the opportunity to knock the ball away, setting up the fast break. Despite having the player on him nearly the whole way, he hit the layup to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead. Bauer did it again when the Bulldogs were up 45-42, giving JWP some insurance with about 40 seconds left in the game.
Daulton Bauer led in this one with 21 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Gavin Bauer contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds, and two steals. Caleb Quast with 12 points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals. Gavin Weedman, despite only scoring three points, had four steals.
Bulldogs 104, Rockets 69
Looking at the final score, you wouldn’t have ever guessed that JWP would have started slow, let alone been behind by nearly double digits early.
But, as the saying goes, it’s not about how you start; it’s how you finish.
Although the Randolph Rockets blasted off early, their Achilles heel was their defense. They scored nearly 70 points against the Bulldogs, the most JWP has allowed so far this season. But you can’t win a game scoring 70 if you allow your opponent to enter the triple digits.
Despite starting behind as much as 19-10, the Bulldogs went on a 16-point run to flip the script. They took a 58-37 halftime lead, and from there, it was the JWP show as they rolled with the 104-69 victory.
It’d be a challenge to find two brothers with more chemistry than the Bauers. Against MVL, they scored a combined 50 points and had 34 of JWP’s 51 points against LCWM. In this one, they made up 53 of the Bulldogs’ 104. Gavin had 27 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals, with Daulton putting up 26 points, six rebounds, and four steals.
Gavin Weedman had a great night, too, putting up 18 points. Jaxon Wolff shined with 13 points, three rebounds, and five assists.
With the three wins, the boys are off to a great start. They will have a week off before traveling to Kenyon-Wanamingo on Friday, December 12.
