Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Each week WSN will take a look at the happenings in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference, which includes many of the two-year campuses in the UW system. A look back at the big performances and news from the week before, a look ahead to some of the big games coming up, plus a Player of the Week will be featured.

The Division leaders continued to extend their advantage in the standings over the last week, as both Washington (East) and Rock (West) have commanding leads heading into the final weeks of the schedule.

UW-Rock found itself trailing Sheboygan on the road last Wednesday however, as the Wombats of Sheboygan held a 39-31 halftime advantage. Rock would battle back, scoring a tight 72-71 victory. JJ Scott (Janesville Parker) had a game-high 22 points for Rock. The Rattlers would also scored crossover victories against Marinette and Fox Valley, as they are now 2.5 games ahead of second place Marathon in the West standings.

East Division leader UW-Washington only had one game in the last week, but the Wildcats scored a dominating 87-63 win over Baraboo last Wednesday in a crossover game, as J Braxton Thomas led the way with 22 points. 

There were a couple other interesting games last Wednesday that saw big momentum swings. UW-Fond du Lac led Richland 28-23 at halftime, but the Roadrunners rallied to out-score the Falcons by 17 in the second half en route to a 58-46 win. Kane Irons was the lone Roadrunners player in double figures with 19. Elsewhere, Marshfield led Manitowoc by 19 at halftime, but the Blue Devils came roaring back to score a 78-76 victory. T.J. Schneider (Manitowoc Lincoln) had a team-high 22 points for Manitowoc, who took 27 more shots than Marshfield.

The month of January closes out with a very busy week of games, as 14 contests are on the schedule between now and Monday. Six games are on the schedule this evening. East leading Washington puts its perfect WCC record on the line at home against Manitowoc. Meanwhile, Rock travels to Richland as the Rattlers try to build on their West Division lead.

Waukesha travels to Fox Valley on Friday in a battle of teams trying to navigate their way through a crowded middle of the pack in the East, where five teams are separated by just one game currently.

On Saturday, UW-Rock gets a tough test when they make the trip north to face off against UW-Marathon.

UW-Richland won a pair of tight games last week, needing big second-half performances to get the job done. Last Wednesday in a 58-46 win over UW-Fond du Lac, the Roadrunners trailed by five at halftime before rallying for the victory. Kane Irons was the only Roadrunners player in double figures with 19, adding five assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. On Saturday against UW-Marinette, Irons scored a game-high 27 points, making nine-of-11 free throws as Richland broke open a tied game at halftime to win 79-76.