State Tournament Thoughts

With no Milwaukee teams at state everyone thought this state tournament wouldn't be very exciting but, this state tournament turned out to be one of the most entertaining states of recent. There were two over time games and a game on on a shot right at the end. A three quarter court shot made and a half courter made. Every game seemed that either team had a chance to win.

D3 Semifinals
Iola Scandinavia 53 over Eau Claire Regis 50
Regis took an early lead as Mike Griffin star couldn't buy a basket and Regis was able to pound the ball inside and score with ease. Late in the game turnovers and fouls allowed I S to take the lead, by pounding the ball inside themselves and working their offense from the inside out.

Lacrosse Aquinas 68 over Whitefish Bay Dominican 58
Aquinas was able to dominate this game early as they forced Dominican into taking three balls and when those shots didn't drop Aquinas was able to ignite the fast break for easy baskets. Kwamain Mitchell did his best to bring Dominican back but, he just wasn't enough.

D1 Quarterfinals
Madison Memorial 79 over Badger 63
Memorials pressure defense dominated this game, which led to easy baskets for Memorial. Jimmy Merritt did his best to keep Badger in the game with the three ball.

Oshkosh West 66 over Germantown 63 OT
This was a great matchup of big men but, it was the guards that came up huge. Rick Bowers made the huge three to send the game to OT and Nick Doedens knocked down threes all game long but, it was West guard Michael Maas that made the difference by running the West offense and knocking down some big threes.

Brookfield Central 63 over Bay Port 55
Bay Port was unable to get the ball inside to their star Cole Meyer which kept Bay Port from getting their offense going. Cory Degner was the leading scorer for Central as he was able to get inside and create contact and draw fouls and then connect on the free throws, Degner also knocked down a half court shot that gave BC the momentum.

Wauwatosa East 50 over Eau Claire North 38
North's offense is too pound the ball inside to their big men and East limited their inside touches. On the offensive end Eric Williams game up big with 15 points off the bench.

D4 Semifinal
Suring 57 over Luck 45
Josh Regal is all you need to know here. Regal was able to get inside and dish off to open teammates. In the fourth quarter Regal took over even more and knocked down midrange jumpers and the three point shots to put the game away.

Eleva Strum 61 over Randolph 45
ES completely dominated this game with their overall team strength and defense. Bryan Johnson was unable to get a shot off, Tyler Tillema was unable to get inside, and Kyle Kelm was unable to score on the inside.

D2 Semifinal
Adams Friendship 46 over Plymouth 45
Plymouth's inability to knock down their three point shots in this one. That really was the difference in the game. Adams packed their zone in on the defensive end and didn't allow Plymouth to get the ball inside. Ben Pease was the star for Adams as he made a three quarter court shot and then knocked down the game winner three pointer with seven seconds remaining.

New Berlin Eisenhower 53 over Monroe 49
Monroe couldn't knock down the three point shots that they've lived on for the past couple years and Eisenhower was able to get the ball inside and score.

D1 Semifinal
Madison Memorial 61 over Oshkosh West 58
Memorial once again applied the pressure defense and forced West into turnovers which allowed Memorial to dominate early on. In the fourth quarter West was able to apply the pressure back on Memorial which allowed West to make the game close at the end.

Wauwatosa East 52 over Brookfield Central 48
In a conference rematch Tosa East was able to take BC down for the second time this year. Tosa East was able to pound the ball inside to their big scorer Brice Powell and get the fast break going which led to easy baskets.

Championship Saturday
Eleva Strum 62 over Suring 58
ES used their superior defense to take control of this one. ES was able to hound Regal all day long which led to Regal struggling to score late in the game and late in the game Eleva was able to control the offensive and defensive boards.

New Berlin Eisenhower 54 over Adams Friendship 41
The threes weren't falling for Adams in this one and the threes were falling for Eisenhower as they were able to expose the corners in the AF zone. Alex Izzo was able to knock down seven three pointers to lead Eisenhower.

Lacrosse Aquinas 70 over Iola Scandinavia 51
Aquinas was their usual fast breaking well balanced self. For Iola Mike Griffin was unstoppable has he was able to knock down three after three. In the second half Griffin went cold from the outside and Aquinas controlled the boards and pushed the tempo.

Wauwatosa East 58 over Madison Memorial 56 OT
This game was back and forth all game long. Jeronne Maymon absolutely dominated this game in every aspect of the game but, Wauwatosa East knocked down three after three to keep them in the game and then eventaully take the lead. In the overtime period Tosa East went to a zone defense that kept Maymon from getting the ball and no one else from Memorial was able to step up and score.

All Tournament Team
Mike Hojnacki 6'7 Sr Forward New Berlin Eisenhower- Couldn't miss in the game against Monroe, even stepped out to the three point line and knocked down a couple. Didn't score alot against Adams but, was the inside force on the boards for Eisenhower.
Jeronne Maymon 6'6 Jr Forward Madison Memorial- Absolutely dominated this weekend averaging 30 points 15 rebounds 5 blocks 4 steals and 3 assists a game.
Eric Williams 6'3 Jr Guard Wauwatosa East- Came up big in the quarterfinal game to score 15 points off the bench. Scored 14 points in the championship game including the tying three pointer to send the game to OT.
Lance Rongstad 6'2 guard Sr Eleva Strum- Guy does alittle bit of everything. Guards the other teams top player, scores, blocks shots, and rebounds very well.
Josh Regal 5'9 guard Sr Suring- Can dominate a game without even taking a shot. Totally controled the semifinal game and the first half of the championship game. In the semifinal he completely dominated the fourth quarter when the game was still in question.

Second Team All Tournament
Brice Powell 6'4 forward Sr Wauwatosa East- East only inside presence on the offensive end. Knocked down some big free throws throughout the tournament and scored double digits each game.
Mike Griffin 6'3 guard Sr Iola Scandenavia- Knocked down a ton of shots including some long three pointers. Was able to get in the lane and draw contact and make the free throws.
Alex Izzo 6'1 guard Sr New Berlin Eisenhower- Knocked down seven three point shots in the championship game.
Jimmy Whitehead 6'0 guard Jr Lacrosse Aquinas- Was able to penetrate to the inside and score and knock down a couple of three pointers.
Lucas Morrissey 6'3 forward Sr Lacrosse Aquinas- Another guy that does alittle bit of everything. Played great defense, rebounded well, knocked down the threes, and was able to penetrate to the inside and score.

HM All Tournament
Jimmy Merritt 6'1 guard Jr Badger- Single handily kept Badger in the game against Memorial.
Rick Bowers 6'0 guard Sr Germantown- Controlled the Germantown game by not even taking many shots. Hit the shot to send the game to overtime.
Cory Degner 6'1 guard Sr Brookfield Central- Was the leading scorer in both games form BC. Carried the team in pressure situations.
Michael Maas 5'11 guard Jr Oshkosh West- Bigtime fourth quarter player that helped seal the quarterfinal game and nearly brought them back against Memorial.

Just because the season has ended doesn't mean that I'm done posting for the year. I've got plenty of basketball thoughts to write and then softball season isn't too far away. Anyone interested in seeing box scores from the state games can go to www.wiaawi.org. Thats the WIAA site and they have a very good box score of each game.