First Place on the Line Tonight

Four weeks ago, the Whitnall Falcons raced out to a huge first-half lead at home against New Berlin Eisenhower and held on for a 61-50 victory.

The win gave the Falcons a two-game lead in the Woodland Conference Black Division as they eyed their first conference title since the 2008-09 season.

But since then, the Falcons have lost three of five league games, all by three points or less, to slip to 11-4 in conference play and one game behind front-running Eisenhower (12-3).

“We stubbed our toe and Ike continued to win,” Whitnall coach Kent Kroupa said. “They have won the games they needed to win and we didn’t. (Friday) is going to be a crucial test.”

The teams meet for a rematch at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Eisenhower, the second-to-last league game for both schools and one that will decide whether or not the programs share this year’s title.

, Eisenhower freshman Reed Timmer scored 23 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including 17 in the third quarter. The left-handed shooting guard scored a season-high 30 points in a win over Wauwatosa West on Tuesday and is averaging 16.6 points per contest.

Limiting Timmer will be on of “3 Keys To Victory” for the Falcons:

1. Keeping the freshman sensation in check

Easier said than done, Kroupa said.

“We are good if the ball is not in his hands so we’re going to let him give the ball up," Kroupa said. "He creates so many things when he has it, it creates havoc for everyone else. Our gal is to slow him down the best we possible can.”

Of course, if you spend energy taking away Timmer, others such as deep threat Alex McRae or inside force Keith Kahlfeldt are capable of making you pay.

“It’s the same philosophy (as the first time the teams met): attempt to slow their tempo down," Kroupa added. "Kahlfeldt hurt us in the first half and Timmer hurt us in the second half. Maybe we’ll get that again, as long as we don’t let both of them hurt us at the same time.”

2. Seniors need to step up

The Falcons have six seniors on their roster, but only one is among the team’s top five scorers.

“Our senior kids are hardworking kids but they haven’t been in a position to win a conference championship,” Kroupa said. “You win with your seniors but our seniors are not battle-tested. Ike has that solid tradition of winning all the time. Younger kids experience how that goes. We’ve been in contention, but not as consistently as they have been.”

3. Having the know-how to win close games

Should the Falcons get into a close game with the Lions on Friday, they shouldn’t be faced with any surprises. In the last month, Whitnall lost twice to Wauwatosa West and once to South Milwaukee by three points or less.

Kroupa said, at the very least, luck should be on his team’s side if it’s in another tight battle.

“We had opportunities to win all three of those games,” Kroupa said. “If a shot goes in at the end of any of those games, we win. It’s right there, and we have the right kids shooting. We’ve been there, we’ve felt the pressure and hopefully we know how to deal with it a whole lot better."