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It appeared the McDonell Macks were just a bit off their game Friday, particularly during the second half.

Credit the physical strength, length and impressive resolve of Shullsburg, which rallied from a 30-24 halftime deficit to post a 63-48 victory over the defending WIAA Division 5 state champions in a D5 state semifinal contest played at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Shullsburg, which won the Division 4 state title in 1991 in its only other state-tournament appearance, improved to 26-2 on the strength of 63 percent shooting from the field during the second half. 

On the other end of the court, the Miners used their superior strength and considerable length to hold McDonell Central to just 29 percent shooting during the second 18 minutes.

"Their length bothered us," said McDonell Central coach Archie Sherbinow, whose team ends the season with a 24-4 record. "We started looking at where their defenders where at instead of attacking the basket. We settled for too many jump shots."

Senior point guard Hunter Matye (6-5) controlled the tempo for Shullsburg with his strong ball handling and decision making. He also contributed 19 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocked shots.

Three other Shullsburg players also scored in double figures with Edgewood College recruit Noah Wand (6-5) scoring 13, senior wing Lance Lierman (6-3) adding 12 and Minnesota-Crookston recruit Joseph Meyer (6-9) pitching in 11 points and 5 rebounds.

"In the first half we kept strong, but we had some things we had to clean up on the defensive end," Shullsburg coach Mark Lierman said. "In the second half, we played much better defense. We talked about getting some help on the screens and beating their guys to the spot. We just had to be more aggressive."

Keeping Meyer on the court was also a key for Shullsburg. The 6-foot-9 post player sat six minutes in the first half with two fouls, but his defensive presence and ability to create in the post and off of strong moves to the basket were key for the Miners.

"Joey has the ability to catch the ball high and from a lot of angles and also put the ball on the floor from that spot," Lierman said.

Grayson Knowlton (6-5) scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Macks, but he had just two points after intermission.

With the inside game of McDonell Central taken away, the Macks struggled to make perimeter shots and finished just 2 of 17 from three-point range.

"Shullsburg did a good job of getting the ball in the paint and attacking the rim," Sherbinow said. "Hats off to them. They played a great game."

Columbus Catholic played a lot of outstanding basketball on the way to a 25-2 record and a berth in the WIAA State Tournament.

But coach Joe Konieczny said following the Dons' 72-52 loss to Barneveld in the Division 5 state semifinals Friday that his club has not competed against a team as defensive minded as Barneveld.

"We saw their game film when they played Darlington and we were hoping to attack their defense like Darlington did, but that defense was the best we've seen," Konieczny said. "In the second half of their sectional final against Hilbert, they were excellent defensively and that carried over to today."

Barneveld, which improved to 25-3 and will play Shullsburg in the Division 5 state-title game Saturday, held Columbus Catholic to 37.7 percent shooting (20 of 53) and outscored the Dons, 38-12, in the paint.

"I think we knew how hard we had to work on defense with all their shooters," Barneveld coach Jim Myers said. "That team is coached up to the hilt, but I thought our guys did a great job of closing out on their shooters."

Columbus Catholic made nine three-point shots, but the Dons also missed 18 shots from afar and were out-rebounded 44-22. 

Loras College recruit Hunter Schultz (6-0) went 3 of 7 from long range while Nick Malovrh (5-11) was 3 of 10 from outside the arc.

"We pride ourselves on playing good defense," Myers said. "We can run up and down the floor if our opponent wants to, but I still feel defense wins championships. Playing the type of defense we do allows us to play more kids because of the energy we exert on defense."

While Barneveld's defense ruled the day, the offensive output of senior point guard Matthew Myers (6-0), the son of the head coach, was equally impressive.

Myers made 5 of 8 attempts from three-point range on the way to scoring a game-high 17 points. He also handed out five assists.

"Usually I have bigger, longer guys guarding me, but today that wasn't the case," Matthew Myers said. "After losing down here last season, this is a much better feeling. The hurt of last season fueled us the entire off season."

Senior Mike Zouski (6-2) also turned in a strong outing for the Eagles, scoring 12 points and hauling in 7 rebounds.

Sophomore Malcolm Reed (6-4), who lost his mother, Jen, to a brain aneurysm following the Eagles' sectional final victory over Hilbert, contributed 12 points and 7 rebounds.

"We prayed a lot for the Barneveld community this week with what happened, especially for Malcolm Reed," Konieczny said. "We will be rooting for Barneveld tomorrow." 

Columbus Catholic senior Tyler Fuerlinger (6-2) led the Dons with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals. The Player of the Year in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference went 7 of 14 from the field and found himself trying to get to the basket against a defense that crowded his every move.

"They played really good help defense and communicated very well with each other,"Fuerlinger said of the Eagles' defense. "There were not a lot of openings. Barneveld played very well and we wish them the best tomorrow in the title game."

Attendance for the Friday morning Division 5 session was 10,103. That is up about 1300 from the previous year.