MILWAUKEE – Depending on the weather, Milwaukee Bradley Tech is aiming to take down the top team in the City Conference tonight as the Trojans host coach Tom Diener and the Milwaukee Hamilton Wildcats.

The Trojans are in third place in the City Conference at 6-2, 12-5 overall. Hamilton is 8-0 in conference, 13-2 overall.

Since losing Jan. 15 to Milwaukee Vincent, 67-54, the Trojans have put together a six game win streak with impressive victories over Milwaukee South Division, 47-45, and a one-point win over Sheboygan South, 71-70.

“We beat Milwaukee South a couple weeks ago when they were tied with us at 5-2 in City Conference,” said Trojan's head coach Kevin Wilde.

“We were down seven points with under three minutes to go and they actually missed a shot at the horn so we won by two.

"Then Tuesday night we played up at Sheboygan South and we were down by four points with 30 seconds to go and came back and won in overtime.

“Those are valuable things for these young kids; to believe that even when you’re down if you just keep playing until the final horn, anything can happen,” said Wilde.

“If you look at our box scores we’ll have four kids in double figures and two kids with nine points, or four kids in double figures and two kids with eight points so we get real balanced scoring from the six kids that play predominant minutes.

VALUABLE VARSITY EXPERIENCE..

Last year Bradley Tech won three games the entire conference season and six games overall. Coach Wilde had taken over for head coach Gary DePerry who left at the end of 2008 for Milwaukee Ronald Reagan High School.

Rather than go through the motions, Wilde used the tail end of last year as training ground for a couple younger junior varsity players.

“We brought up two freshman and a sophomore at the end of last year and we made it to the sectionals; so it was a nice carry over having those kids returning with some varsity experience.

“Now this year we have three sophomores that start, they’re all averaging in double figures and the consistency isn’t there because they’re still young but the upside of them getting valuable varsity experience is helping us this year,” he said.

STRESSING ACADEMICS…

Bradley Tech has not only made positive strides on the court, but also in the classroom.

"That’s probably 90-percent of my job, more than coaching basketball," said Wilde. "It’s are they in class."

Coaches check and conduct individual meetings with student athletes when progress reports come out.

"We talk to them before final exams and give them time off from practice to study for their exams.

“We cut kids that are good enough to play basketball here; we’re looking for team chemistry and character. There are some kids who are borderline but we hope that by being part of our basketball program that will help improve them academically," said Wilde.

"A couple kids we took a chance on have met our requirements and expectations and they’re starting to get it done in the classroom,” he said.

BIG GAME TUESDAY…

Bradley Tech is heading into tonight’s game against Milwaukee Hamilton, coming off a 62-50 win last Friday over Milwaukee Custer (0-8,1-14).

“Hamilton just runs a motion offense and we’ve seen that three or four times this year; the problem we have is height," Wilde said.

The Trojans start four players under 6-feet tall. Milwaukee Hamilton’s starting lineup features 6-9, 6-6, and 6-5.

“We know we’re undersized, we know we’re going to give up offensive rebound put backs, but we have to win games by not turning the ball over, make our free throws and find different ways to win because we know we’re not going to win the inside game,” said Wilde.

“Our kids are small but they compete; they’ll box out, defend, fight over screens and get loose balls.

“You know, 5-10 has a hard time guarding 6-9 but if we can win the loose balls, if we can take a charge, if we can limit our turnovers we just try to find different ways to maximize what we put on the floor.”

Bradley Tech has slain the giant before; last season the Trojans, who had won just four games during the regular season, upended Milwaukee South Division 63-44 in a sectional eight, regional semi-final.

Wilde has a strong sophomore lineup in 6-0 guard Chris Jones and 6-3 forward Otis Pirtle; both had solid AAU seasons. But the student athlete who has impressed him most is floor general Antoine Smith.

“He’s our sophomore point guard who averages one turnover a game," said Wilde.

"I thought he’d turn the ball over more but he’s shooting 50-percent from the two-point line, making 70-percent of his free throws, knocking down big three pointers.

“He had a big three pointer against Sheboygan South, so for a sophomore to play clutch, that's been phenomenal. He’s the one kid we don’t bring off the floor simply because we know he’s going to get us in our offense and not turn the ball over."

The Wildcats come into tonight riding an eight-game win streak. The last time they lost was December 31 against a team out of Georgia. The closest game for Hamilton in the City Conference was last month when the Wildcats pulled out a two-point victory, 65-63, over Milwaukee Washington (5-3,11-5).

Bradley Tech hosts Milwaukee Hamilton tonight. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.