Rice Lake (22-5) returns to the Division 2 championship game with some unfinished business to attend to following its 72-64 semifinal victory over Greendale (16-11).
The Warriors, last year’s runner-up, opened the game with a 9-2 lead, but the Panthers responded with a 11-0 run and led through most of the first half. Greenfield led 33-32 at the half, but the Warriors scored the final six points of the third quarter to take a 49-44 advantage. The Panthers scored the next five points to get even, but Rice Lake opened an eight-point advantage midway through the fourth quarter and held on for the win.
Henry Ellenson led the Warriors with 26 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shot despite playing with an apparent injury to his non-shooting hand sustained in the first half. Ben Widdes netted 16 points with Andrew Shearrow adding 11 and Andrew Mattes contributing 10.
Josh Michaels and David Pulizos paced the Panthers’ offense with 20 points apiece. Nate Thomson chipped in with 18 points.
Both teams shot the ball well with the Warriors converting on 52 percent of its field goals and Greendale hitting on 56 percent.
Mount Horeb (22-5) pulled away in the fourth quarter to record a 65-53 win over West De Pere (20-7) in its Division 2 semifinal.
The early portion of the fourth quarter was the turning point of the game. With the Phantoms holding a 45-42 advantage, the Vikings went on a 17-2 run over a six-minute span to build a 59-47 advantage. Mount Horeb maintained a double-digit lead the remainder of the game.
The two statistical categories that where overwhelmingly in the Vikings' favor were rebounding and free throw opportunities. Mount Horeb outrebounded West De Pere 34-19 and converted 20-of-26 attempts from the charity stripe compared to 6-of-9 for the Phantoms.
Max Meylor led a balanced scoring attack for the Vikings with 18 points. He also grabbed a team-high 11 boards. He was joined in double figures by Terek Nescheim with 12, and Trey Recknor and Drew Fredrickson with 11 points each. West De Pere was led by Cody Schwartz with 24 points and nine rebounds. Zack Sanders and Connor Konshak each added 13 points.