Dundee boys pick up the pace in season-opening win over Milan

Braiden Whitaker of Dundee drives to the hoop past Trey Chmielewski of Milan Tuesday during a 52-34 Dundee win.
Braiden Whitaker of Dundee drives to the hoop past Trey Chmielewski of Milan Tuesday during a 52-34 Dundee win.

DUNDEE – Dundee’s boys basketball team is picking up the pace this season.

The Vikings are left with a smaller lineup this season after graduating several of its inside players.

“We lost a couple of our seniors (from last year), a lot of bigs,” explained senior Drew Bolster. “We changed our game. We’re running more and pushing the ball up the floor.”

The new strategy seemed to work Tuesday as Dundee opened its 2022-23 season with a 52-34 victory over Milan.

“It’s nice for the fans,” said Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt. “We want to play fast. When you have guys like Ethan (Layton) and Braiden (Whitaker), they want to play fast. You have to let them go."

Adam Spare of Dundee fouled by Jackson Raasch of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.
Adam Spare of Dundee fouled by Jackson Raasch of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.

While the Vikings should be more fun to watch, they might also produce some anxious moments for the coach.

“You have to live with some carelessness,” Haselschwerdt said. “I’ve never been that much of a control freak. When you have good players, you have to get out of the way and let them play.”

Milan didn’t get in Dundee’s way much in the early going.

The Vikings led 12-7 after one period and 25-11 at halftime.

Braiden Whitaker of Dundee attempts to drive through Jackson Raasch and Jaxen Wourman of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.
Braiden Whitaker of Dundee attempts to drive through Jackson Raasch and Jaxen Wourman of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.

“I was really happy with how our team played,” said Bolster, who tied Adam Spare for the team lead with 11 points. “We played good team basketball. We were very energetic and played as a team.”

The team ball was reflected with balanced scoring. Whitaker and Ben Hatkow added 9 points each.

Milan, meanwhile, had trouble getting shots to fall, especially in the first half.

“It was one of those games where a lid was on the basket,” Milan coach Nate Edwards said. “The guys had a lot of energy, but we couldn’t get shots to go in.”

Drew Bolster of Dundee sets to take a shot guarded by Trey Chmielewski of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.
Drew Bolster of Dundee sets to take a shot guarded by Trey Chmielewski of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.

Milan’s top two scorers from last season graduated.

“We lost a lot of scoring, but we still have guys who can fill it up,” Edwards said.

Tyler Denham led all scorers with 14 points and Trey Chmielewski added 9.

Ethan Layton of Dundee goes to the hoop against defenders William Walline and Tyler Denham of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.
Ethan Layton of Dundee goes to the hoop against defenders William Walline and Tyler Denham of Milan Tuesday evening at Dundee High School.

“Trey and Tyler are our guards,” Edwards said. “That’s the plan for them to score. It will take some time to build things up, but we have time. There are 21 more (regular-season) games.”

Dundee

12

13

9

18

52

Milan

7

4

9

14

31

DUNDEE: Layton 2 (1) 1-2 6, Zanger 2 0-0 4, Lee 1 0-0 2, Bolster 4 (1) 2-2 11, Hatkow 4 (1) 0-0 9, Whittaker 4 (1) 0-2 9, Spare 4 3-4 11. Totals 20 (4) 6-10 52.

MILAN: K. Ballard 0 0-1 0, Hill 1 1-2 3, Denham 5 (1) 0-0 14, Raasch 0 1-2 1, C. Ballard 1 2-2 4, Chmielewski 5 (1) 0-5 11, Walline 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 (2) 5-14 31.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Dundee boys pick up the pace in season-opening win over Milan