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Stop us if you’ve heard this before: La Crosse Aquinas senior guard Bronson Koenig is pretty good.

“We’ve been able to hand the ball off to Bronson for four years and boy, is that going to be different for us a year from now,” Aquinas coach Rick Schneider said after the Blugolds never trailed and beat Little Chute 61-51 in Friday’s Division 3 semifinals.

“He’s the real deal,” Little Chute coach Mickey Martin said of the University of Wisconsin recruit.

Those attending Friday’s game also learned is that the Blugolds don’t necessary need Koenig all day, all the time to be effective. When foul trouble forced him to sit in the second half, his teammates protected and built the lead. Three other Aquinas starters hit double figures, led by junior center Parker Weber, who had 18 points and nine rebounds.

“We kind of had the idea that they were going to try and pack the lane, and get in gaps whenever I drove,” Koenig said. “When they did that I just dished to Parker and he did a really good job of finishing.”

Weber also held Little Chute center Kenneth Lowe to just one point in the second half after Lowe scored 12 in the first half. Weber moved to cover Lowe after Michael Conway also got in early foul trouble.

“You try to outpower him, even though he’s a big, strong player and 6-8,” Weber said. “You try to take away the high-low and help defense was important, too, when they got the ball over me.”

Maddeningly efficient

Aquinas (23-4) shot 70.6 percent in the second half and failed to score on only one of their third-quarter possessions, which gave Little Chute little opportunity to rally. The Mustangs (25-2) got no closer than five points after the midpoint of the third period.

“In the end, I think they just generated better shots than we did,” Martin said. “The team that generally generates the best shots over 32 minutes usually wins. I think that’s what happened today.”

Botz bows out big

Mustangs senior Turner Botz, who like Lowe is headed to UW-Green Bay next year, scored only four points in the first half but finished with 19 to lead the Mustangs.

“I played all right today,” he said. “I still missed a couple of shots I needed to put in.”

Blugold in the pink

Weber stood out not only for his play on Friday, but also his hot pink shoes. What’s the story on those?

“It was kind of good luck,” he said. “Nothing, really.”

“I give Parker credit for not giving away our game plan,” Schneider joked about the gaudy footwear.

Blue Devils get their due

Last year, Lodi was a cold-shooting team in its state semifinal loss to Brillion. On Friday, the Blue Devils (24-3) got off to a fast start against East Troy, jumping to a 20-6 lead.

“We ended up needing all of it,” Lodi coach Mitch Hauser said after the Blue Devils hung on for a 54-46 win and a Saturday championship matchup against Aquinas.

Lodi shot 52 percent in the first half, led by Brady Moses and Jordan Shea, who combined for 18 first-half points.

“We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but hung in there and it became a possession game,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said.

The Trojans (23-4) tied the game 44-44 midway through the fourth quarter and at 46 with 35 seconds left before Lodi hit eight straight free throws for the win.

Removing the bigs

Lodi did an effective job on East Troy’s Brett and Alex Prahl, the 6-9 twins that averaged a combined 33 points and 19 rebounds per game. The pair finished with a total of 21 points and just eight rebounds. Nate Dodge led the Trojans with 16 points.

“They’re so dominant inside that we thought if their guards were going to beat us, well, then they’ll beat us,” Hauser said. “I thought Jordan (Shea) could do a job on Dodge within reason. But we made him work, and then it was a combined effort with our other four guys to help in the paint.”

Note:  Attendance for the Division 3 semi-final session was 15,601. That is the third-highest single session figure in state history.