Blue Dukes Roar into Sectional Finals with Win Over Tosa West

Ron Patten admitted he was a bit sluggish for most of the game. But the senior forward came through when his team needed him the most.

Patten made several crucial plays offensively and defensively in the fourth quarter to lead Whitefish Bay to a 41-30 victory over Wauwatosa West in a sectional semifinal game at Thursday night at Marquette University’s Al McGuire Center.

The Blue Dukes now will face Wisconsin Lutheran in the sectional final, which will be held at 4:15 p.m. Saturday at the McGuire Center. The winner will advance to the WIAA Division 2 State Tournament in Madison next weekend.

Wisconsin Lutheran advanced to the final with a 57-47 victory over Whitnall Thursday night.

Patten, a 6-foot 6-inch senior, scored 16 points to lead the Blue Dukes in a game that was dominated defensively by both teams.

“He had a rough night shooting, but he stepped up when he needed to and that’s what you need from your seniors,” Whitefish Bay coach Kevin Lazovik said.

Patten said he just needed a little time to get warmed up.

“It seems like I’m cold at the beginning of the game,” he said. “It’s always that one shot that gets me going. I know if I hit that one shot, it’s going to get me going.”

Two shots turned the game around for Patten. The first came on a reverse layup midway through the fourth period. Then, a little more than a minute later, he hit a 3-pointer to give his team the lead.

After being down, 19-16, at halftime, West went on a 10-3 run to hold a 26-19 lead with 2 minutes  40 seconds left in the period. After a steal and a layup by Tyler Krause, the Blue Dukes called a timeout. Bay responded well after the timeout, getting three layups, two by center Jamie Schneck and another by Carl Ehrke to cut West’s lead to one going into the final period

“We needed to do something and it was definitely time to take a time out when they pull up by  seven,” Lazovik said  “We came out and responded as well as we could.”

Both Patton and Lazovik agreed. It was the team’s defensive adjustments that made the difference.

“We amped up the pressure, “Lazovik said. “We changed up the defenses. We wanted to keep them off balance. We went to a 1-3-1 zone press and we picked our spots on our traps, we definitely picked our spots.”

Jarvis Ashley hit two free throws for Wauwatosa West with 4:34 left in the fourth quarter. Those were the last points the Trojans would score.

“We have one more step,” said Lazovik, looking forward to the sectional finals. “We know we’re going to have our hands full.”

Box score

Wauwatosa West: Chu 2 2-2 6, Krause 5 0-0 12, Landers 2 0-0 5, Ashley 2 3-5 7. Totals 11 5-7 30.

Whitefish Bay: Davis 2 0-0 5, Anton 1 0-0 2, Johnson 0 1-2 1, Ehrke 2 2-2 6, Weas 1 0-0 3, Patton 6 2-4 16, Schneck 3 1-4 7. Totals 15 6-12 41.

Wauwatosa West     8-8-10-4--30

Whitefish Bay          12-7-6-15—41

Three-point baskets: Wauwatosa West: Krause (2), Landers. Whitefish Bay: Davis, Weas, Patton (2). Total fouls: Wauwatosa West 14, Whitefish Bay 9. Fouled out – None.