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Omro, clicking on all cylinders and quieting a large Lomira crowd, sank 11 three-point baskets in the first half, withstood a strong second-half rally and posted an important 71-54 triumph Friday night to run its record to 14-3 under coach Steven Egan.

In the process, the Foxes moved three games ahead of Lomira in the Flyway Conference standings. Omro now is 10-0 in league play, one game head of second-place Winnebago Lutheran. Omro pretty much ended any hopes Lomira had of winning the league crown as the Lions slipped to 7-3 in conference outings with just four games left to play.

Omro got double-digit scoring from four of its five starters with Mason Huth leading the way with 17, followed by Mason Gruss with 13 while Keenan Rahn and Ryan Schoeni added 12 each.

Promising sophomore big man Jake Broeske (6-9) led Lomira with 24 points and drilled four three-point baskets.

Mason Huth, 6-0, Jr., G, Omro
Huth made some timely shots for Omro, particularly in the second half when Lomira reduced a 26-point halftime deficit to just 10 points. He was able to knock down two three-point shots, get to the free-throw line six times (made three), and score off the dribble when the Lions extended their defense to cover perimeter shooters. Huth is averaging 12.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists and his strong contributions have complimented the strong play of Rahn and Shoeni all season. "Mason is very quick and he's been able to get to the rim and finish in addition to making perimeter shots," Egan said. "He also takes great pride in his defense."

Lomira found itself trailing 45-19 at intermission, but the Lions made some defensive adjustments to take away Omro's torrid perimeter shooting game and slowly chipped away at its deficit. The crowd came to life late in the contest when Broeske hit three consecutive three-point baskets, the last cutting Omro's lead to 59-49 with 4:09 to play. But Gruss knocked down a three and Schoeni came up with a steal and layup in the next 30 seconds to help Omro put the game away at 68-53. 

Ryan Schoeni, 6-0, Sr., G, Omro
The three-year varsity performer uses his physical strength, his considerable skill and his high basketball IQ to control things for the Foxes on offense. He was relatively quiet from a scoring standpoint Friday, but he was more than willing to make the extra pass to set up his teammates. He did hit two triples in the Foxes' first-half onslaught and had a huge steal and layup late in the game to help Omro seal its victory. "Ryan missed yesterday with illness, but he fought through it and made some big plays for us," Egan said. "He's playing more physical on defense this year and has really done a great job facilitating our offense."

"I am a strong believer that shooting is contagious. We saw a few go in and it gave our guys confidence. We've been working on early skip passes with the goal of passing the ball into the paint and then skipping the next pass to our shooters to get some good looks. That worked today, especially in the first half." -- Omro coach Steven Egan

Broeske, one of the better class of 2026 prospects in the state, was held to just two points in the first half. But the 6-foot-9 forward took his game to another level in the second 18 minutes, scoring 22 points, blocking some shots, finishing a baseline drive with a dunk and drilling four three-point shots. He is averaging 14.2 ppg and 11.6 rpg for coach Tim Zedler's squad. His play certainly impressed Egan, a former college player at Whitewater. "When he gets aggressive, he can be almost impossible to stop," Egan said. "Anytime you have somebody that is big and wide and can score in the post but also step outside and make threes, that's impressive. He's growing into his body and finishing better around the basket." ... Connor Steers also turned in a strong game for Lomira, now 11-7 overall, by scoring 11 points.

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