Wisconsin Lutheran Ends Whitnall's Postseason Run

With just more than three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Wisconsin Lutheran boys basketball team was substituting four fresh bodies into the game at one time.

Some of those subs were actually starters reentering the game after a quick, early breather.

It was clear from the start that Wisconsin Lutheran coach Ryan Walz was trying to wear down Whitnall (17-8) with his deep bench, and that strategy paid off as the Vikings (23-2) turned a close third-quarter lead into a 57-47 win at the Al McGuire Center in a WIAA sectional semifinal Thursday.

“That’s always one of our big goals, especially playing on the big court,” Walz said. “We figure we have an advantage cause we can go deep. We’ve got 12 guys on the team and we feel like all 12 guys can play. But you can’t play 12, so we try to keep it to a nine-man rotation and give guys (a breather).”

Led by guards Terry Nash (15 points) and Chris Golden (14), the Vikings controlled the game's tempo nearly throughout and made key free throws down the stretch to pull away.

“Coach always wants us to be aggressive,” Nash said. “As I was being aggressive I just saw the lane and I took it. Same thing with Chris, he was getting his opportunities. When they would deny me the ball, he would take the lane for the open pull-up jumper or take it all the way to the rack.”

Combine that with a dominating performance by the Vikings on the boards and a drastic advantage from the free-throw line, and it just wasn’t Whitnall’s night.

“That was the difference all game long,” Whitnall coach Kent Kroupa said. “They had the ability and the nose to go get rebounds. We just didn’t get them, and not only did they get them, but they put them back and either scored or they got fouled and that’s just the difference maker.

“We are not a physical, strong team so we had to be in position every time a shot went up and it was hard to maintain that and do it all night long.”

The Vikings won the rebounding battle, 41-28, including 19 offensive rebounds.

They also went 13-of-19 from the free-throw line, compared to 8-of-12 by the Falcons.

Whitnall’s talented backcourt of sophomore Daniel Weymier and junior Stephen Pelkofer struggled early, combining for just four points in the first half. The duo recovered to score 14 of the Falcons' 19 third-quarter points.

In the end, however, every time Whitnall made a run, Wisconsin Lutheran had an answer.

“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well but I thought we really battled, took care of the ball ... and again, our work on the rebounds has just been huge for us all year," Walz said. "The guys are resilient as far as getting after the rebounds. When you shoot 40 percent, you’ve got to get some boards.”

The Vikings will play Whitefish Bay, which beat Wauwatosa West, 41-30, in Thursday’s early game. That sectional final is scheduled for Saturday at 4:15 p.m.