Marquette's close win over West Allis Central highlights WIAA boys sectional finals
RACINE - West Allis Central held the ball for minute-long stretches during its WIAA Division 1 sectional final with Marquette, but at game's end, it was the Hilltoppers holding the sectional plaque after a 64-58 win.
Marquette forced a travel call defensively with 32 seconds remaining to set up free throws on the ensuing offensive possession by T.J. Adams, increasing the lead to 62-58. Nolan Minessale added two more after another defensive stop to bring a back-and-forth affair that featured 14 lead changes in just the second half to an end. Head coach Casey Kowalewski said returning to the sectional final and earning a trip to state were paramount goals on the minds of players all season long.
"To get to the sectional finals last year and get knocked out, left kind of a… we knew we had 10 guys coming back, so this was the goal all year long, to get back to state, get back to this game and make it one more and hopefully two more," Kowalewski said.
It was a senior class led by Minessale, Adams, Ryan Meehan and Cade Kohnen that weathered the change in tempo early-on from West Allis Central to knock down clutch shots all game long.
"It certainly makes everything easier when we have so many guys that can shoot the ball the way that they can," Kowalewski said. "Their experience makes everything easier so you as a coach, they know what you expect and what you want."
West Allis Central jumped out to a 28-20 lead in the first half, led in part by turnovers and second-chance points. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Kevin Pittman was leading that effort on the glass, while a trio of threes from freshman guard Max Jones was stretching the Marquette defense.
"Early-on we weren’t doing a good job of when the shot went up, getting rebounds, so they were getting second-chance points," Kowalewski said. "In the second half we did a better job of keeping the ball in front of us, getting rebounds and then making good decisions."
A dunk and layup from Minessale helped MU finish the half on a 13-4 run to take a 33-32 lead into the break. Go-ahead triples from Kohnen to take leads of 36-34, 39-38 and 50-47 helped Marquette find an answer to every West Allis Central push. A Meehan three with less than five minutes left gave the Hilltoppers an advantage they would not relinquish of 60-57.
"Our kids hit some big shots down the stretch," Kowalewski said. "It certainly makes everything easier when we have so many guys that can shoot the ball the way that they can."
Minessale was all smiles after the win in which he played through a couple minor cuts and injuries sustained both earlier in the week and during Saturday's game. He dislocated his ring finger on his right hand in the first half of the sectional semifinal win over Racine Case, which was splinted for Saturday's final.
"It’s definitely hard to shoot with it, but I’m not that much of a shooter in the first place, so I just played through it," Minessale, the program's all-time leading scorer with over 1,600 points and counting, said.
The Hilltoppers will now rest up for a to-be-determined state semifinal over one of three other WIAA D1 qualifiers that included: Arrowhead, Kettle Moraine and Neenah. Kowalewski and Minessale said preparation and defense will be the keys to bringing home the program's first state title in its third state appearance.
"We know we can score with everyone in the state. It just comes down to defending, and it just comes down to having more heart than the other team," Minessale said.
Seven other area teams punch ticket to WIAA state semifinals
In addition to Marquette, seven other programs across four divisions qualified for the state tournament with wins on Saturday.
Division 1
No. 2 seeded Arrowhead knocked off No. 1 De Pere, 85-80, in a state title rematch from a season ago.
No. 1 Kettle Moraine beat No. 7 Janesville Craig, 56-43, to advance to the D1 state tournament as well. The win was highlighted by the return of senior guard Drew Wagner, who had missed the entire season up to the sectional final.
Division 2
In D2, No. 1 Nicolet beat fellow No. 1 seed Ashwaubenon, 56-44, to return to the WIAA state tournament for the second-straight season.
No. 1 Pewaukee is just two wins away from a four-peat in D2 after beating No. 1 Stoughton, 62-49.
The Pirates could meet familiar Woodland West foe Wisconsin Lutheran along the way, after the No. 1 Vikings beat No. 1 Racine Park, 80-59. Wisconsin Lutheran's Kon Knueppel registered a triple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists to lead the winning effort.
Division 3
St. Thomas More beat Carmen Northwest, 95-71, qualifying the Cavaliers for the state tournament in a battle of Mr. Basketball candidates Amari McCottry of STM and Dupree Fletcher Jr. of Carmen.
Division 4
In D4, Kenosha St. Joseph defeated Kohler, 66-36, to return to state after reaching the D4 state final a season ago.
The area nearly had a representative from every division headed to state, but D5 No. 1 Salam came up short in a 63-53 final to No. 1 Abundant Life Christian.
Teams in all five divisions will be seeded on Sunday for the WIAA state boys basketball tournament, scheduled for March 14-16 at the Kohl Center in Madison.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's close win highlights WIAA boys sectional finals
