Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Catholic Central of Burlington kept its unbeaten streak in the WIAA State Tournament intact Friday morning at the Kohl Center, but it was far from easy.

The Hilltoppers (19-9) survived a strong late push from Barneveld (23-5) to record a 37-35 triumph and improve to 5-0 in their games in the state tournament.

Catholic Central, which won state titles in 2001 and 2006, played strong man-to-man defense throughout the contest, but the Hilltoppers had to weather a missed three-point shot by Matthew Myers, a put-back attempt that was just off the mark by Mike Zouski and a leaner at the horn that rimmed out from Will Clausen in the closing seconds to advance to Saturday's title game against McDonell Central.  

"Barneveld is extremely tough and talented with some very good size and length," Catholic Central coach Kyle Scott said. "They are extremely well coached. They gave us everything we could handle."

Catholic Central set a WIAA Division 5 record for lowest winning score in a game while the Hilltoppers and Golden Eagles combined to set a D5 record for lowest total score at 72.

Catholic Central, which played several close contests during the season in the Metro Classic Conference, held Barneveld scoreless for the final 11:17 of the first half to turn a 10-6 deficit into a 17-10 lead.

The Hilltoppers led by as many as eight in the second half, but Barneveld slowly got back into the game after using a half-court trap to change the tempo.

"In that dry spell in the first half, we had three turnovers and two led to easy baskets," Barneveld coach Jim Myers said. "We settled for the outside shot a little too much, but you also have to credit their defense.

"We played at their tempo in the first half, but in the second half we picked up the pace and got back into the contest."

Barneveld tied the game at 35-35 with 2:09 left, but Catholic Central regained the lead with free throws from Ben Heiligenthal and Frank Koehnke, setting the stage for the final shot attempts for the Golden Eagles.

Catholic Central shuts down Barneveld's Myers

The strong man defense Catholic Central employed Friday was triggered in large part by the stellar on-the-ball pressure applied by junior Aaron Rueber.

The quick and tireless 5-foot-9 point guard hounded Barneveld junior Matthew Myers (6-0) the entire game and played a major role in keeping the Golden Eagles' top scorer without a single point.

"Our defense usually starts with Aaron Rueber," Scott said. "Our game plan coming into the game was after the first pass, to no-touch (Myers) him. We wanted to keep the ball out of his hands as much as possible. Our goal was to not let No. 1 (Myers) beat us."

Myers came into the game averaging 18.6 ppg, but he misfired on all seven of his field-goal attempts, including three from beyond the arc. He did finish with four assists and played strong defense on the top of the Golden Eagles' zone, but keeping him from denting the scoring column was huge for the Hilltoppers, who have won 13 of their last 15 games after a 6-7 start to the year.

Scott hoping for similar results as 2001

Fifteen years ago, Kyle Scott and his teammates from Catholic Central became the first private school to win a WIAA boys' state basketball championship after the merger with the now-defunct WISAA on July 1, 2000.

Scott was a guard on that team that edged Pecatonica for the Division 4 crown, and he later went on to play at the NCAA Division III level for Edgewood College. Scott is hoping Catholic Central can match the success of state-title teams at the school in 2001 and 2006 when they compete for the Division 5 crown on Saturday.

Now in his second year as head coach of the Hilltoppers, Scott thought back to the co-coaches of that squad -- the late Norb Wishowski and Steve Edge -- following Catholic Central's victory.

"It's hard to believe it was 15 years ago," Scott said. "Being a coach and not a player is so much more difficult. I have little influence on the outcome of the game as a coach. 

"Coach Wishowski and coach Edge meant everything to me. Norb taught me everything about coaching. His scouting reports were two inches thick on every player. I think of him often."

Wishowski, who also coached at St. Thomas More and Pio Nono, is a member of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Balanced McDonell topples NEW Lutheran to reach title game

On any given night, one of several members of the McDonell Central basketball team can lead the team in scoring.

On Friday morning in the WIAA Division 5 State Tournament, it was sophomore Hayden Baughman's turn as the athletic 6-foot-5 wing player scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots to help the Macks register a 70-51 victory over Green Bay NEW Lutheran at the Kohl Center.

McDonell Central (26-2) advances to play Catholic Central (19-9) in the Division 5 final Saturday.

Four McDonell Central players average in double figures for coach Archie Sherbinow, led by junior Alex Ohde (6-7) at 17.6 ppg, senior Ben Retzlaff (6-1) at 16.0 ppg, junior Grayson Knowlton (6-6) at 12.7 ppg and Baughman at 11.2 ppg.

With Ohde and Knowlton battling foul trouble in the first half, Baughman stepped up to score 19 of his points, helping the Macks stay within 31-30 at intermission.

WIth McDonell Central at full strength in the second half, the Macks parlayed their size advantage and balanced scoring into a convincing victory, outscoring NEW Lutheran 40-20 in the final 16 minutes.

"It's definitely a privilege to have that type of balanced scoring," Sherbinow said. "A lot of credit to all of our guys for being so unselfish. They put the team ahead of their personal stats."

Retzlaff made three shots outside of the three-point arc and finished with 13 points, Ohde contributed 10 and Knowlton added six points and 10 rebounds.

The Macks tied a state D5 record for most blocked shots in a game with 10, including four each from Knowlton and Baughman.

"Coach wants us to put a lot of pressure on the opposing guards out front because we know we have the big guys in the back to clean things up," said Retzlaff.

Improbable run ends for Green Bay NEW Lutheran

Green Bay NEW Lutheran entered the WIAA playoffs with an 8-14 record and finished sixth in the Packerland Conference.

Then the Blazers decided to string together some victories with regional triumphs over Oneida Nation, Lena and Wausaukee followed by sectional wins over Suring and Almond-Bancroft.

Their magical run ended at the Kohl Center with the loss to McDonell Central, but the Blazers' sixth trip to the WIAA State Tournament in the last seven years is an impressive feat, one no other school in the state can match. 

"We were trying to shock the world ... or at least Wisconsin," NEW Lutheran coach Mark Meerstein said. "Not too many teams end their season at 13-15 and playing in the state tournament."

Senior Gabe Lloyd (6-5), a University of Wisconsin football recruit, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds before fouling out for NEW Lutheran. Senior guard Tanner Natzke (5-11) added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists.