Lutheran’s Delvin Barnstable takes a shot on Saturday. – Photo by Jenni Pickel
WIAA Division 5
boys state basketball tournament
The Kohl Center, Madison
Friday
Sheboygan Lutheran vs. Chippewa Falls McDonell Central, 9:05 a.m.
Marshfield Columbus Catholic vs. Bangor, 10:45 a.m.
Saturday
Semifinal winners, 11:05 a.m.
Live TV: WMLW
Live stats: wiaawi.org
SHEBOYGAN LUTHERAN CRUSADERS
Record: 25-2
Rank: No. 2
Seed: No. 1
Streak: Won 6
State: Third, first since 2014 (Won state in ’12)
Stat: The team is trying to become the first school from Sheboygan with two WIAA state championships.
Stuff: No one in the Division 5 field has a player as tall as 6-foot-7 Jacob Ognacevic. The junior is averaging 30.5 points and 15.6 rebounds per game and was named the Big East Conference player of the year.
“He’s a special player, you’re going to want to see him play,” Lutheran coach Nick Verhagen said. “You have to game plan on how to limit him, I don’t think nobody is stopping him. He’s just one of those special players and we’re fortunate to be able to coach him.”
McDONELL CENTRAL MACKS
Record: 18-9
Rank: None
Seed: No. 4
Streak: W 6
State: Fifth, fourth in a row (Runner-up last year)
Stat: The Macks’ playoff bracket did not have any teams ranked in the state poll.
Stuff: Adam Schilling is in his first season as head coach at McDonell Catholic.
“I think it was an easy transition because I was able to lean on some of the kids in some ways,” he said. “Working with these kids, you can tell how well-coached they’ve been.”
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC DONS
Record: 25-2
Rank: No. 4
Seed: No. 2
Streak: Won 5
State: Third, first since 2017 (never reached title game)
Stat: Five players made the all-Cloverbelt East Conference team, including three on the first team.
Stuff: Five seniors start for the Dons and four are the top-four scorers on the team who average at least 14 points per game.
“When one or two of our main guys have an off-night, we have one or two or three others that can step up,” Columbus Catholic coach Joe Konieczny said.
BANGOR CARDINALS
Record: 25-1
Rank: No. 3
Seed: No. 3
Streak: Won 22
State: Third (Won state last year)
Stat: Before last season, the only other time Bangor was in the tournament was in 1936.
Stuff: The Cardinals had to replace 10 seniors and returned only one starter in junior Grant Manke, and he averaged 23.6 ppg and 13.6 rpg to earn the player of the year honor in the Scenic Bluffs Conference.
“We knew we were going to miss them, but we also knew we had some kids ready to step into those shoes,” first-year Cardinals’ coach Jacob Pederson said.
Categories: Sports
