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After missing all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, Sheboygan Christian senior Michael Modahl is more than making up for lost time.

The 6-foot-4 senior forward erupted for 38 points Thursday while leading the Eagles to a 62-53 victory over visiting Kohler in a Big East South Conference outing in the Sheboygan Christian gym. 

Modahl has been instrumental in helping Sheboygan Christian to a 3-1 record with impressive victories over Oostburg, Howards Grove and Kohler. 

A mobile big man who can step outside and shoot, Modahl is difficult to stop going to the basket as his length, moves, strength and skill were on display Thursday against a solid Kohler squad.

"Kohler isn't that big so our strategy for this game was to get the ball inside and go to work," said Modahl, also an All-State soccer player. 

Modahl scored 20 points in the first half as the Eagles took a 33-25 lead into intermission.

He came out and scored seven quick points in the second half and it appeared Sheboygan Christian might run away with the victory.

However, Kohler rallied behind the strong play of 6-foot-3 senior wing Charlie Roeder, who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, and the three-point shooting of junior Clarence Breitenbach (5-10) and sophomore Trey Keller (5-11). 

Roeder continually got to the foul line for the Blue Bombers (2-2) and he cashed in on 10 of 13 attempts from the stripe.

Roeder sat a good portion of the first half with foul problems, but he played at an extremely high level during the second 18 minutes to help the Blue Bombers make their impressive comeback. 

"When Charlie was on the bench in the first half, it hurt us because now Sheboygan Christian had one less player to worry about in terms of scoring," Kohler coach Ken Roeder said. "We played Zane (Willadsen) for Charlie and he will be a very good player for us, but he's just a freshman guarding a guy like Modahl. 

"Charlie showed in the second half how his game has changed a bit. He knows now that he has some shooters around him so he can drive the lane and kick out passes to open shooters." 

Kohler reduced its double-digit, second-half deficit to just one point late in the game, but Modahl came through with some big baskets and senior guard Brandon LeMahieu (6-2) made his third triple of the game to help the Eagles remain in front. 

Finding production from players other than Modahl is the biggest concern for veteran Sheboygan Christian coach Brett Flipse.

LeMahieu finished with 14 points for the Eagles, but no other player reached double figures. 

"When we beat Howards Grove the other night, it was the rest of our guys who beat them because Michael and (Miles) Barnstable of Howards Grove each had 26, and (Noah) Heinen had 15 compared with 14 for (Tanner) Schumacher of Howards," Flipse said. "So they kind of canceled each other out.

"Heinen is a guy who is capable of putting up big points for us, though he was kind of quiet tonight with just seven. And (Josiah) Stecker needs to play better. He was a bit under the weather tonight, but he's capable. We need our guard play to improve."

Still, Sheboygan Christian already is halfway to its victory total of all of last season. And victories over strong opponents like Oostburg and Howards Grove have been tough to come by for the Eagles in the last decade or so.

"I always knew how good Michael was, but I just wasn't sure how he'd play on his knee this season," Flipse said. "I think he's still missing some of explosiveness. Maybe that will come as the season progresses."

Modahl, who hopes to major in business finance and has heard from NCAA Division III St. Norbert College for basketball, attended all of the practices and games last year. It was tough to sit and watch, knowing he could have definitely helped to team to some additional victories.

"I used the practices for rehab for myself," Modahl said. "I started with leg presses and working with weights. Then I was able to do some running and agility things while also shooting on the side.

"When practice started this year, I had a knee brace for the first two weeks of the season. But I decided to try playing without it and I haven't used it since. I feel I'm back to close to 100 percent."

Modahl is averaging 31.0 ppg for the Eagles, who play at Random Lake next Thursday before meeting Big East and state power Sheboygan Lutheran on December 20.  

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