Thanks to the Bonduel boys basketball team, two No. 1 seeds for this season’s WIAA state tournament aren’t in the mix for a state title.
The Bears, however, are heading back to the Kohl Center in Madison for the second time in a row and second time in program history after a 78-68 win over Marathon March 14 in a Division 4 sectional final at D.C. Everest High School in Weston.
The win came two days after Bonduel knocked off previously undefeated Kewaunee 73-62 in a semifinal.
Bonduel improved to 26-3 and is the No. 1 seed among the four remaining Division 4 teams. The Bears will face No. 4 Cambridge at 6:35 p.m. March 19 in one of two Division 4 semifinals, while No. 2 Milwaukee Juneau and No. 3 Regis will meet in the other semifinal. Winners will advance to the championship game, set for about 1:30 p.m. March 21.
Bonduel 78, Marathon 68
Senior Griffin Uelmen, who came into the game with the Red Raiders averaging fewer than eight points a contest, scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the first half that helped the Bears take a 41-25 lead into the locker room.
Marathon cut the lead to 64-60 with just under five minutes remaining, but the Bears answered Marathon’s rally with a 10-3 run that pushed the lead back to 11. Bonduel’s final eight points came from the free-throw line.
While most teams focus a lot of their attention on Ryan Westrich, the Red Raiders had problems with Uelmen, whose 19 points in the first half included four 3-pointers and a 3-point play.
“Griffin’s a really good player,” coach Duke Copp said. “He’s a senior, he’s been to state in cross county and track, he’s a great athlete and he hit some huge shots in the first half.”
Quinn Wesenberg added 22 points for Bonduel to go along with Westrich’s 14.
The Bears advanced to the Division 4 championship game last season before falling to Aquinas in the team’s first-ever trip to state.
That experience, as well as making it to a sectional final two seasons ago but falling to Marathon, helped the Bears this season, according to Copp.
“Our kids have been there,” he said. “Making this run last year helps a lot. Today, getting a good start was key. We almost gave it away, but we hung on.”
Bonduel 73, Kewaunee 62
The Bears spent most of the first half trailing the Storm at Kaukauna High School, but a 13-2 run to start the second half gave Bonduel a lead it never lost.
Bonduel trailed by as many as six points in the first half before Uelmen’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Bears sent the teams into the locker room tied at 30-30.
“That was huge because we were struggling,” Copp said. “We weren’t playing that well in the first half, and we knew it. To tie it up was awesome.”
The Bears took the lead for good by scoring the first seven points of the second half. Kewaunee’s Connor Kilgore ended the run with a basket to cut the lead to five points, but the Storm never got any closer the rest of the way.
Westrich later scored 12 straight points for the Bears and ended up leading all players with 27 points.
Four 3-pointers helped the Storm cut the Bears’ lead to 68-62 with less than a minute remaining. A turnover gave Kewaunee an opportunity to get even closer, but a carrying violation on Kilgore with 35 seconds to go gave the ball back to the Bears.
Bonduel then sealed the win with two free throws from Westrich and Uelmen and one from Carter Moesch.
Moesch and Uelmen finished with 19 and 11 points, respectively, while Wesenberg and Jack Zernicke added eight each.
Diesel Bosdeck led four Kewaunee players in double figures with 15 points, while Kilgore, Mason Kovacs and Dane Harrell added 12, 11 and 10, respectively.
“It came down to gritty, tough basketball plays,” Copp said. “What a great team they are. There’s a lot of talent on that floor. They play so hard and play tough defense, but I thought we did at times, too.”
Bonduel’s postseason has included wins over a pair of No. 1 seeds — Marathon and Kewaunee — as well as a come-from behind win over Iola-Scandinavia in a regional final in which the Bears trailed by a point with a minute to go, but ended up winning 70-65. The Bears had opened tournament play with an 82-40 win over Oconto.
“We had a tough run through the tournament and the season,” Copp said. “We played a lot of good teams this year, so we felt we were ready for this, but you never know how it’s going to go.
“This is exhausting, but this is what it’s all for. It’s great to see our community out here and Marathon. What a great atmosphere. This is what high school basketball’s about.”
