MCDONALD'S SWNEWS4U.COM GAME OF THE WEEK (March 11–18)
WIAA DIVISION 5 BOYS BASKETBALL: Southwestern 44, Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 43
By A.J. Gates, Herald Independent / Tri-County Press
Wildcats rally to beat Assumption to qualify for state for first time since 1988
WESTBY — “Anyone and everyone says you have to be lucky and good to make it to Madison. We were lucky and good on Saturday.”
Those were the words of Southwestern coach Clint Nemitz, in reference to his team’s 44–43 WIAA Division 5 sectional final victory over Wisconsin Rapids Assumption, that punched the Wildcat’s ticket to their first state tournament appearance since 1988.
With sectional wins over North Crawford and Assumption, coach Nemitz’ Wildcats will head to the Kohl Center with a record of 23–6. They will play the second of two D5 state semifinal games Friday morning.
“We have played some very clean games this postseason, but I wouldn’t say the Assumption game was our prettiest of games,” said coach Nemitz. “The guys did just enough to get the win. As I have told many people for the past two months, they have started to find ways to win. They are starting to understand situations as much as any high school kids can. When their backs were against the wall they made plays.”
The Wildcats did not get off to the best of starts last Saturday against Assumption, but more than made up for it in the final 10 minutes of the contest. They struggled from the outside in the first half, where they were 1-of-12 (8%) from 3-point range. Their inability to make shots led to a 26–13 halftime deficit.
In the first eight minutes of the second half, a pair of buckets by Carsen Splinter and a basket by Cayden DeMuth pulled Southwestern to within 27–20 with 10:06 to play.
In the final 10 minutes is where the Wildcats shined though, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Aiden Keleher and another by DeMuth to pull within 32–29 with 7:32 showing on the clock. Assumption extended their lead to nine points at 40–31 with just over three minutes to play, but Southwestern kept on fighting.
Trailing the Royals 43–39 with 1:24 to play, DeMuth came up big for the Wildcats with a rebound and quick timeout following a missed free throw by Assumption.
Following the timeout, a runner by Keleher was off the mark, but he rebounded his own miss and passed out to DeMuth, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing, pulling the Wildcats to within 43–42 with 51 seconds to play.
Assumption’s J.T. Schlaefer followed up by putting up a runner at the other end, and on the rebound attempt, Southwestern’s Remi Lawrence was fouled and sent to the line with 34.7 seconds to play. Lawrence made both ends of the bonus try to put Southwestern up 44–43, which was their first and only led of the game.
Assumption took a timeout under their own basket with 7.5 seconds to play with the game essentially coming down to an inbounds play.
On the inbounds pass, DeMuth broke it up, gathered the ball and passed it out to Lawrence, who was fouled and sent to the line with two seconds showing on the clock. Lawrence missed the front end of the bonus, leaving Assumption with only a full-court heave that never found its mark.
Keleher, who had 11 points in the second half, finished the night with a team-high 15 points to go along with six rebounds.
Splinter, who had nine points in the second half, finished with 11 points and six boards, while DeMuth added eight points to the win, all of which came in the second half. DeMuth also pulled down six rebounds for the Wildcats.
After shooting 19% from the field in the first half on 6-of-31 shot attempts, Southwestern was 9-of-27 (33%) from the field in the second half, including 6-of-14 (43%) from downtown. From the charity stripe they were 7-of-13 (54%), including 7-of-11 (64%) in the second half.
“We have some guys on our team who are gym rats, they put in work when no one is around,” explained Nemitz. “We have guys that just understand their role on the team and what they need to do to help us win. That is where our success comes from.”
The Wildcats advanced to Saturday’s sectional final with a sectional semifinal victory of 63–52 against North Crawford two nights earlier in Richland Center.
Thursday night’s playoff game was a rematch of their non-conference meeting on Jan. 13, which the Trojans won 86–66. This time around though, the Wildcats overcame a 27–25 halftime deficit to outscore North Crawford 38-25 in the second half.
Coach Nemitz got a team-high 16 points and 10 boards from DeMuth in Thursday night’s win, followed by 13 points and 10 boards from Splinter, 10 points and five assists from Aiden Keleher and eight points from Sam Martin.
After shooting 32% in the first half on 11-of-34 shot attempts, the Wildcats made 13-of-23 (61%) shots in the second half to complete the comeback.
“We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the first half, so to go into the locker room only down two, we felt confident that we could get the offense going,” explained coach Nemitz. “Once we got to the second half our defense stayed the same, we kept them out of the paint and our offense started to crank it up a bit.”
“Our guys do a very good job of recognizing when we have a break and when we don’t.” We rattled off some transition points at the rim and even some secondary threes,” Nemitz added.
With a regional and sectional title in hand, the Wildcats (23–6) will enter the state tournament as the No. 3 seed among the final four division 5 teams. They will take on No. 2 seed Prentice (24–3) in the second of two state semifinal games following the 9:05 a.m. match up between No. 1 seed Reedsville (26–3) and No. 4 seed Sheboygan Lutheran (23–6). The D5 championship game will be played at 11:05 Saturday morning.
“I am excited for the kids and the community, and as a coach I am relieved,” said coach Nemitz. “Countless hours have been put into getting to this point. We have been so close, so many kids have put in the time throughout the years and we haven’t broken through.”
“Basketball is something we take seriously at Southwestern, and from first to 12th grade we provide opportunities for the kids,” Nemitz explained. “There is a certain expectation, an expectation that has been around for 13 years. I love what this state trip does for the present and for the future of our program.”
The one and only other time Southwestern had a boys’ basketball team advance to the state tournament was back in 1988 where the Wildcats defeated Randolph, 72–71, in their state semifinal game, before losing in overtime to Greenwood, 41–40, for the Class C state title.
Southwestern 44, Assumption 43
(D5 sectional final from Saturday, March 14, at Westby)
Southwestern....13 31 – 44
Assumption.......26 17 – 43
Southwestern – Remi Lawrence 2, Aiden Keleher 15, Carsen Splinter 11, Sam Martin 3, Cayden DeMuth 8, Lucas Foley 2, Drew Martin 3. Totals – 15-58, 7-13 44.
Assumption – Logan Nystrom 3, Chase Leberg 5, J.T. Schlaefer 23, Braeden Peters 7, Trey France 2, Ron Bord 3. Totals – 14 12-19 43.
3-point goals – SW: (7-26) A. Keleher 3, DeMuth 2, D. Martin 1, C. Splinter 1.; A: Schlaefer 3, Nystrom 1. Team fouls – SW 11, A 16. Fouled out – None.
Southwestern 63, North Crawford 52
(D5 sectional semifinal from Thursday, March 12, at Richland Center)
Southwestern......25 38 – 63
North Crawford...27 25 – 52
Southwestern – Remi Lawrence 5, Aiden Keleher 10, Carsen Splinter 13, Sam Martin 8, Landon Reuter 3, Clayton Keleher 6, Cayden DeMuth 16, Lucas Foley 2. Totals - 24-57, 10-15 63.
North Crawford – Sawyer Stluka 7, Cullen Jacobus 16, Zack Bender 9, Landry Stluke 7, Damien McCormick 2, Landen Blaha 11. Totals – 18 10-16 52.
3-point goals – SW: (5-21) DeMuth 2, Splinter 1, Reuter 1, C. Keleher 1; NC: Blaha 3, S. Stluke 1, Jacobus 1, L. Stluka 1. Team fouls – SW 13, NC 14. Fouled out – None.
