The semifinals of Divisions 4 and 5 opened the 98th Annual State Boys Basketball Tournament Thursday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
DIVISION 4
Dominican 55, Cuba City 47
Defending State champion Dominican (23-4) returns to the title game by defeating previously undefeated Cuba City (26-1) 55-47 in a rematch of last year's Division 4 championship tilt.
The first half was marked by cold shooting as both teams shot below 30 percent through the first two quarters. Chris Topp hit a couple of 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to give the Knights an early 8-2 advantage, but the Cubans closed the final 6:30 of the first quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 12-10 at the end of the first period.
A low-scoring second quarter was highlighted by a Duane Wilson dunk to tie the score for Dominican at 12-12 and then answered by a pair of 3-pointers from Jason Derby to lead the Cubans to a three-point halftime lead at 20-17.
Dominican's shooting improved drastically in the second half, hitting on better than 72 percent of its shots. The Knights took the lead for the first time since the first quarter following a Wilson jumper with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter. With the game tied 33-33 with 1:34 to play in the period, Dominican went on a 10-0 run and built an 11-point lead before Cuba City fought back to get the deficit to within three at 2:42 to play. The Knights put the game away with an 8-0 spurt in the final minutes.
Wilson led the Knights with 19 points and Chris Topp added 12. Cuba City was led by Einar Frimodt and Derby with 12 points apiece.
Auburndale 49, Amherst 29
Auburndale (26-1) advances to the Division 4 title game Saturday following a 49-29 win over Amherst (22-4) in the semifinals.
The Apaches never trailed in the game, opening a 14-4 advantage by the end first quarter. It was too much Austin Hawkins in the first half, scoring 14 of his game-high 20 points in the half. Hawkins set a Division 4 record for shooting percentage in a game, hitting 10-of-11 shots from the floor.
Trailing 24-15 at the half, the Falcons could get no closer than eight points in the second half. A pair of Blake Anderson 3-pointers midway through the third quarter ballooned the Apache lead to 14 points at 33-19. The Apaches held off the Falcons in the fourth quarter from the free throw line, converting on 8-of-11 from the charity stripe in the final four minutes.
The Apaches set a Division 4 State Tournament team record for shooting accuracy, hitting on 64.3 percent of their field goals in the game. Anderson chipped in 15 points and five assists for Apaches. Amherst was led by Caleb Glennon with 14 points.
Dominican seeks a second straight title in Division 4 and plays Auburndale Saturday at 12:45 p.m.
DIVISION 5
Randolph 46, Elmwood 37
Nine-time State champion Randolph (26-2) advances to the final for its attempt at an unprecedented 10th title following a 46-37 victory over Elmwood (23-5).
The Raiders jumped out to 10-point lead when Tom LaFlex hit a 3-pointer with 1:34 remaining in the first quarter. The Rockets scored the final four points of the period to cut the deficit to 14-8 and knotted the score at 14-14 in the second quarter, but Elmwood built a five-point lead on a pair of 3-pointers by Logan Wolf later in the period.
The Raiders led 25-21 at the half, but the Rockets surged ahead in the second half with a 10-0 run through a five-minute stretch of the third quarter to lead 33-29 heading into the fourth period.
An 8-2 run by the Rockets in the final 3:44 broke open a tight game. Aaron Retzlaff led Randolph with 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Elmwood was lead by Kyle Webb and Wolf with eight points apiece.
Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 62, Drummond 59
Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran (28-0) led throughout much of the first half and opened a nine-point advantage midway through the second quarter, its largest lead of the game. Drummond battled back to take a 30-29 lead at halftime. The Lumberjacks increased their lead to 40-34 with 4:18 to play in the third quarter; however, the Blazers went on a 12-5 run to end the quarter leading 46-45.
The Blazers led by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, but Drummond (24-3) tied the game at 59-59 with :29 to play in the game. However, Nathan Toenjes provided the game-winning margin with a traditional three-point play with three seconds remaining.
Nathan Claflin led five players in double figures for the Blazers with 14 points. Travis Voigt added 12 points and eight assists. Ben Best led all scorers with 19 points for Drummond.
The semifinals of Division 5 opened the 98th Annual State Boys Basketball Tournament Thursday at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.