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Following Friday's Division 1 semifinal at the Kohl Center in Madison, Milwaukee King coach Jim Gosz admitted something he hadn't told his team prior to its Division 1 semifinal game against Germantown.

"I knew Germantown was good; I didn't want to tell my players that," he said after the Warhawks ran off with an easier-than-expected 77-60 win. "Did I think they were this good? Yes, I did."

The final 17-point margin was the smallest during the last 12 minutes of Friday's semifinal, as Germantown (25-2) advanced to Saturday's championship game in a quest for its third straight state title. The result was in little doubt after the Warhawks opened a 12-point halftime lead.

The Generals (24-3) shot just 13 percent from behind the arc and were outrebounded 37-23. The Warhawks, meanwhile, shot nearly 59 percent from the field and led by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter.

"Everyone knows how tough King is and has been, and (Gosz's) teams don't change a whole lot from year to year," Germantown coach Steve Showalter said. "We kind of know what we have to do to prepare for a team like this and our preparations paid off this week. It's a lot different when you have a week to prepare for King than when you have 24 hours."

All the anticipation between two of the state's top three teams according to the wissports.net rankings quickly evaporated as the Warhawks dominated on both ends of the floor.

Germantown pushed its size advantage early and often, as Evan Wesenberg led the team with 25 points. He finished 11-of-13 from the field as the Warhawks overpowered the Generals inside.

"I was trying to get the easy buckets, getting in good position for easy layups and whatnot," said Wesenberg, who also grabbed six rebounds. "I had a big start and that helped me with confidence throughout the game."

Germantown also had good balance, as Lemonte Bearden added 17 points off the bench and Jake Showalter added 13 points including four three-pointers.

"Our guys know me," Steve Showalter said when asked if he felt all things were clicking for the Warhawks on Friday. "They know that if we're up by 27, I want to win by 37, not 17."

King did manage to get into the paint on the drive consistently against the Warhawks, but had trouble finishing. The Generals made just 24 of 61 field-goal attempts on Friday.

Thinking three-peat? Not quite yet

After Germantown's dominating victory on Friday, talk quickly turned to the Warhawks place among the state's best all-time teams, even though the championship game had yet to be played.

"Usually I don't answer those questions until after the game," Showalter said. 

Gosz, who has seen and coached some of the state's best over his quarter century as head coach at King, felt safe in assessing where Germantown's current reign ranked among the state's best.

"Right up there, right up there," he said. "The three cats they bring off the bench, they don't lose a thing. I'm not going to discredit any other teams, but they're right up there ... they're the real deal."

Nothing Heldt back for Neenah

Neenah earned its first state championship game berth since 1988 in Friday's second semifinal, as the Rockets pulled away from Mukwonago for a 58-41 victory.

Junior 6-foot-10 center Matt Heldt was dominant against the Indians, scoring 16 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Mukwonago tried to counter with seven-foot senior Daniel Gerrits but could not stop Heldt's abilities, which included a 17-foot jumper and a three-pointer in the first quarter.

"I had a good feeling during warm-ups," said Heldt, who also grabbed nine rebounds. "I was comfortable with the atmosphere at the Kohl Center. Then I had a pick-and-pop right away from Adam (Pohlman, Neenah's point guard). The guy guarding me was just in the lane, so if he left me out there I was going to do that a little more often."

That disrupted Mukwonago's defensive plan and left the Indians scrambling from the first quarter, when Heldt scored 12 points.

"We thought big Gerrits at seven feet might be a disruption that (Heldt) hadn't seen before," Mukwonago coach Jim Haasser said. "We thought that (Ryan) Wagner was such a great football and track athlete that his footwork could keep Heldt off-balance and force him to catch the ball where he didn't want to catch it. But none of that was really effective."

Added to that was Pohlman, who handed out eight assists Friday. The Rockets (26-1) had 17 assists on their 22 baskets as they shot nearly 48 percent from the field.

"On the season we've had a very high assist-to-basket ratio," Neenah coach Scott Bork said. "That's kind of the way we play. We put the ball in our guards' hands and they get it to the kids in the right spot."

The Rockets also held Mukwonago (18-9), last year's state Division 1 runner-up, to less than 27 percent shooting including 1-of-13 from behind the arc. Neenah led by as many as 22 points in the final quarter.

"We've talked all year that if we're going to do things, we can't just be good on defense - we have to be great," Bork said. "Hopefully we have enough for tomorrow, because tomorrow's another test."

A little inside training

Heldt said his game improved between his sophomore and junior seasons because of workouts with former Appleton West and University of Wisconsin standout Brian Butch, who has also played several seasons in the NBA D-league.

"Brian would come into our open gyms and push me around a little bit and beat up on me," Heldt said. "It really helps because it's really hard to find guys my size around, you know."

Support from a legend

One fan of Neenah's current run at the state tournament is legendary coach Ron Einerson, who took the Rockets to state 10 times between 1969 and 1988. Included in that were two state championships (1975 and 1978) and four runnerup finishes.

"He doesn't miss a home game," Bork said. "He hasn't gotten to all the road games, but he was here tonight. He constantly has been nothing but a complete gentleman and supportive all the way through.

"He never comes in and starts asking questions. He's just completely behind you. At the same time, if you ask him something, he'll share when you ask."