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WIAA Thursday roundup

MADISON — Madison Memorial has the luxury of not having to rely on just one player because the Spartans have three who can make a big difference.

That was the case Thursday night when junior guard Vander Blue scored 35 points and the Spartans withstood a fourth-quarter rally by Germantown to advance to the semifinals of the WIAA Division 1 boys state basketball tournament with an 86-73 victory.

Blue, a Wisconsin recruit, is part of a threesome that includes junior Tre Dreamer and senior Jeronne Maymon, a Marquette recruit considered one of the frontrunners for the prep player of the year. Maymon started for the fourth straight time in the state tournament.

Creamer had 18 points, 14 in the first half, while Maymon had a game-high seven assists and nine rebounds to go along with 11 points.

“They are prototype players,” Memorial coach Steve Collins said. “It was (Blue’s) night tonight. Tomorrow, it will probably be somebody else.”

The Spartans will play Bay Port in tonight’s second Division 1 semifinal game.

Germantown trailed 56-38 late in the third quarter when the Warhawks rallied to close the gap to 65-59 with five minutes remaining. But following a timeout, Blue scored on a three-point play.

Germantown (21-3) again rallied, closing the lead to 70-64 before the Spartans (24-1), making their sixth straight state appearance, ran off eight straight points to clinch the game.

The Warhawks finished with four players in double figures led by Michael Laubenheimer’s 16 points.

Memorial went on a 10-0 tear over the final two minutes of the first half to take a 37-25 lead at the break. It was the cap to a quarter that saw the Spartans hit 8 of 12 shots.

Blue scored seven of those points, including a resounding dunk off his second straight steal for the final basket of the half. Blue scored 11 points in the second quarter.

“It doesn’t matter how many I score as long as we win,” Blue said. “I know this was a big game but everyone is starting off with zero points (Friday). As long as we get that W, that’s all that matters at this point.”

Creamer kept the Spartans in the running in the first quarter. Creamer, who is often overshadowed by the attention Blue and Maymon receive, led all scorers with 14 in the first half. He scored 12 of those in the first quarter on 5 of 7 shooting, offsetting the 2-for-10 effort by his teammates in the period.

-- Racine Horlick 55, Eau Claire North 47—If there ever was any question why Racine Horlick guard Jamil Wilson is one of the leading candidates for Wisconsin prep player of the year, the doubt was removed Thursday in Division 1 quarterfinals of the WIAA boys state basketball tournament.

Wilson, the 6-foot-7 senior who recently announced he will attend Oregon next year, scored 11 of his 24 points in the third quarter as the Rebels advanced to today’s semifinal game against Oshkosh North with a victory over Eau Claire North (17-8).

Horlick (23-1), which extended its winning streak to 19 games, hit six of seven shots in the third quarter to open a 13-point lead. Wilson hit three of those shots before missing a shot at the buzzer as the quarter ended.

“I’ve got faith in my teammates that they will get me the ball,” said Wilson, who was averaging 21.2 points per game coming in. “I had the hot hand and everybody saw it.”

Evan Anderson, the 6-11 center for the Huskies who will attend Wisconsin, scored six points and grabbed five rebounds in 19 minutes of playing time.

-- Oshkosh North 47, Milwaukee Washington 45—Oshkosh North(21-3) survived Terry Taylor’s missed three-pointer at the buzzer Thursday to outlast Milwaukee Washington (21-3).

Taylor, whose three-pointer from the right corner with 27.9 seconds left brought the Purgolders to within two points, missed an open three from the left side after taking an inbounds pass with 1.8 seconds left.

North was led by Tank Johnson’s 13 points. Johnson, however, spent much of the second half on the bench in foul trouble before fouling out with 1:43 left. He scored all his points in the first half when North took a 24-21 lead.

Junior guard Taylor Cameron scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half to offset the loss of Johnson’s scoring. Sophomore Quevyn Winters led Washington with 15 points.

Division 3

-- Racine St. Catherine’s 77, Fall Creek 57—Senior guard Jake Thomas scored a career high 34 points and hit seven-of-11 three-point attempts Thursday to pace the Angels (24-2) to a victory over Fall Creek (21-5).

It marks the fourth time in five seasons that the Angels have reached the state final. They won state crowns from 2005 to 2007 but lost in last year’s sectional final.

Thomas, who came in averaging 15 points per game, fell two points shy of tying the Division 3 record for points in a game. He scored 16 points in the first half, including 11 straight in the final 3 minutes of the first quarter when the Angels took a lead they would never surrender.

“I was getting the ball just about every time I was open,” said Thomas, who will attend South Dakota next season. “I was due for a good game. I’ve been staying after practice to work on my shot and it paid off today.”

Thomas received an offensive boost from senior teammate Javar Lawson, who finished with 21 points.

-- La Crosse Aquinas 56, Manitowoc Roncalli 41—Senior guard Jimmy Whitehead scored 23 points to lead defending champion La Crosse Aquinas (22-3) to a victory over Manitowoc Roncalli (21-5).

Whitehead, who averaged 20.7 points per game in the regular season, hit six of seven shots in the first half to pace Aquinas to a 25-12 lead.

Aquinas held the Jets to just 4-of-19 shooting (21.1 percent) in the first half and 16 of 37 (34 percent) for the game.

The only Roncalli player able to mount a consistent offensive threat was sophomore guard Ben Stelzer, who finished with 15 points.