Wisconsin High School Sports | Wisconsin Sports Network | WisSports.net

Though he was a good 28-feet away from the basket, Carson Smith of Sussex Hamilton rose up with a last-second shot that would have won the game with confidence.

And it appeared it was headed straight for the middle of the hoop.

However, Carson's shot at WIAA State Tournament history ratted both sides of the rim before popping out, allowing Oshkosh North to survive with a 57-56 victory over Sussex Hamilton in a thrilling Division 1 state semifinal before a crowd of more than 16,000 at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Smith, a 6-foot-0 sophomore guard, had made three triples in less than a minute with the Chargers trailing by 14 points early in the second half. He went 3-of-9 from distance during the contest as Sussex Hamilton connected on 10 shots from three-point range during the contest.

"The three Carson took at the end ... it was right there," Sussex Hamilton coach Andy Cerroni said. "That's a shot he has hit countless times in the past."

In the media room after the contest, exceptionally talented freshman Patrick Baldwin Jr., a 6-foot-8 forward who scored 22 points and had six rebounds, predicted Smith would make nine of 10 attempts from that deep range if he were to go out on the Kohl Center floor again and try the shot.

Regardless, top-seeded Oshkosh North moved on to play for the DIvision 1 state title for the first time in school history.

Senior Quincy Anderson (6-4) had 26 points and seven rebounds to lead the way for the Spartans, who take a 26-1 mark into Saturday's title game against Brookfield East (25-2).

"I kind of felt like my teammates put me in position to score," Anderson said. "I think Tyrese Haliburton is as good as anybody in the state in facilitating the offense and getting the ball to guys in the right spots."

Haliburton, a 6-foot-6 point guard headed to Iowa State, finished with 12 points, five rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals.

Oshkosh North, champions of the Fox Valley Association, built a 19-point lead in the first half before upstart Sussex Hamilton mounted its comeback behind the three-point shot.

In addition to Smith, freshman Tanner Resch (5-10) and Baldwin Jr. got hot from the perimeter in the second half as the Chargers outscored the Spartans 40-24. Resch made five-of-six attempts from the floor, including all three of his tries from three-point range.

"What a great game," Oshkosh North coach Brad Weber said. "I thought those kids from Sussex Hamilton showed a lot of heart coming back like they did. They are a hot team right now and you saw that in the second half."

Patrick Cartier finished with 20 points for Brookfield East (25-2) on Friday’s late semifinal against Sun Prairie, but it will be the final 2.6 seconds that will be remembered. Cartier’s buzzer-beater (see video below) put Brookfield East into its first WIAA boys basketball championship game, ending a thrilling 52-50 overtime win over the Cardinals.

“It’s so surreal,” Cartier said afterward. “Looking up and seeing all those people at the Kohl Center.”

The winning half-hook shot that eluded a double-team defense put the final crazy seconds on an intense game that featured big shots, big comebacks, and a coaching chess game on both ends of the floor.

The final sequence began when Spartans sophomore Sam McGath tipped the ball away from Jalen Johnson with five seconds left and went for the potential winning layup. McGath was fouled by Caden White in what was ruled intentional. McGath missed both free throws, however, and the first Brookfield East inbounds pass was kicked out of bounds by the Cardinals.

“Coach (Joe) Rux drew something up in the huddle, but the first pass was kicked out,” Cartier said. “So we ran the same play, but instead of going backside, we went strong side. Coach Rux notices that stuff. So I caught the ball, one dribble, shot it and well, it went in.”

“He’s being humble,” Rux interrupted. “He said that he envisioned it as he was shooting it.”

Those final seconds flipped the script, which just a few seconds before seemed to set up for a final Sun Prairie shot. The Cardinals (25-2) had spent much of the end of the second half and overtime spreading the floor, patiently looking to find pathways to the basket.

Neither team had scored in the final four minutes of the regulation, which ended 46-46 after Marty Strey’s 15-footer missed at the buzzer as neither Jalen Johnson or Marlon Ruffin could get a clean look. The Cardinals (25-2) had used a strong trapping defense in the second half to erase a six-point deficit and slow Brookfield East’s offense.

“The strategy on the defensive side was to not let them get into their offense, to put them in positions where they were uncomfortable, because they’re very good at their offense, so we wanted to extend them,” Sun Prairie coach Jeff Boos said afterward. “Offensively, I felt we had enough quickness on the perimeter to get past them; to spread the ball, spread the floor and utilize some of our quickness.”

Johnson made a shot early in overtime, but did not get another attempt for the Cardinals and finished with just 10 points. Marlon Ruffin led Sun Prairie with 13 points.

Freshman Hayden Doyle was the only other Brookfield East player in double figures, as he hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

For the latest and most up to date boys' basketball news and recruiting information, follow Mark on Twitter @wisbbyearbook. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Mark by clicking here.