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D1 Semi-Final Notes: Brookfield Central downs Menomonee Falls with stunning comeback; Neenah gains finals

03/19/2022, 11:45am CDT
By Mark Miller

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The agony of defeat and thrill of victory was never more evident than in the moments following Brookfield Central's 51-50 victory over Menomonee Falls Friday night at the Kohl Center in Madison.

Trailing by a point with just :03.8 seconds left, Menomonee Falls senior Seth Trimble grabbed the inbounds pass, took four dribbles up the court and let go with a one-handed floater from about 22 feet. The ball appeared destined to go in, but it rolled around the rim and fell out, leaving Brookfield Central with a come-from-behind victory for the ages and Menomonee Falls with a heart-stopping loss that will be difficult to shrug off.

Trailing by 10 points with just 3:43 remaining, Brookfield Central's extraordinarily resilient Lancers mounted a fierce rally that was aided in large part by the fact Menomonee Falls missed the front end of the bonus free throw situation three times.

Brookfield Central got four points each from Andrew Rohde and Bennett Murray, and a huge three-point basket from Drew Edmund to outscore the Phoenix 11-0 down the stretch to notch the unlikely victory.

The triumph pushed Brookfield Central (24-5) into Saturday's WIAA Division 1 title game against Neenah (28-1).

"If you are a fan of high school basketball, that was about as good a game as you could hope for," Brookfield Central coach Dan Wandrey said. "We have a lot of respect for Menomonee Falls. It was just a great game."

Understandably, Menomonee Falls coach Jason Hallenbeck had a bit of a different take on the game in the media room following the contest. 

"The last couple of minutes, it felt like 10 out of 10 things went wrong," Hallenbeck said. "Im still extremely proud of this team. They made school history."

Still, Menomonee Falls' first trip ever to the state tournament will likely go down as the one that slipped away. The Phoenix led 28-23 at intermission and had that big 10-point lead somehow disappear in the final four minutes.

Trimble, a North Carolina recruit who played much of the second half with four fouls, missed the front end of the bonus twice, and Gage Kemp Jr. had his bonus shot bounce out.

Brookfield Central capitalized on those misses with huge baskets on the other end that got the crowd going and the Lancers believing they could complete a remarkable comeback.

Trailing by a point with under 14 seconds left, Rohde passed the ball to Drew Edmond near the foul line. Edmond found Bennett Murray along the baseline and Murray went up with a shot. He missed the attempt, but was fouled on the play and stepped to the free throw line needing to make two to give his team the lead.

He made both, setting the stage for Trimble's last attempt.

"I took a deep breath and trusted myself to make those free throws," Murray said. 

Meanwhile, Rohde was charged with guarding Trimble on the game's final play.

Following a timeout, Trimble got the inbounds pass with his momentum heading toward his basket. The fact he came so close to winning the contest in such short time is a testament to his speed, athleticism and skill.

"I didn't want to foul and send Seth Trimble to the line for two free throws," Rohde said of defending the all-state player on the game's final possession. "I tried to contain him. As the shot went up, my life flashed before my eyes. It just rolled off."

When the shot fell to the ground, the Kohl Center crowd was alive with noise, the Brookfield Central players celebrated in wild fashion and the Memomonee Falls players slumped to the floor in disbelief.

It was the play of the entire state tournament and the game of the entire state tournament through two days. 

Rohde, the University of St. Thomas recruit and likely first-team all-state player, finished with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The fact he trusted Edmond with the ball on the Lancers' last possession impressed Wandrey.

"It's the biggest play of his young life and he's willing to make a pass to a teammate," marveled Wandrey, who led Brookfield Central to the 2019 Division 1 state championship.

Edmund and Murray each added nine points to the Brookfield Central cause.

Trimble scored five points in the first couple minutes of the game, but made just 4-of-13 shots from the floor en route to scoring 11 points. He also had eight rebounds and drew seven fouls during the contest. 

"The shot felt great," Trimble said of his final high-school field-goal attempt. "Players miss shots. We got downhill and got the look we wanted."

Senior Steven Clay (6-5) turned in a stellar all-around game for Memonomee Falls, scoring 22 points, grabbing nine rebounds and coming up with five steals. 

The Phoenix end a memorable season with a Greater Metro Conference title, a trip to the WIAA State Tournament and a 25-4 record.

Neenah missed free throws, committed uncharacteristic turnovers and generally got sped up during the late stages of the Rockets' WIAA Division 1 State Tournament semifinal with Racine Case Friday night at the Kohl Center.

In the end, it didn't matter.

Despite seeing all but two of its 16-point second-half lead evaporate, Neenah made enough defensive stops and some big free throws over the final minute of the game to register a 60-52 victory.

"I thought we played well in the first half," said Neenah coach Lee Rabas, who watched his club notch its school-record 28th victory against one loss. "We had a rough stretch in the second half. We didn't handle their pressure well or make our free throws. But we got enough stops to pull it out."

After leading 29-18 at half, Neenah pushed its lead to 41-25 with 11:31 left on a basket from senior Carter Thomas.

Racine Case (22-7) slowly cut into Neenah's lead behind its pressure defense and ability to attack the basket off the dribble.

The Eagles got the crowd energized when senior forward Amari Jedkins (6-8) scored on a layup and then picked up a loose ball off a turnover and slammed it home to bring Case within 50-48 with 2:58 remaining. 

The two teams traded points and Case had a chance to take a lead when Jedkins' three-point attempt from the right wing was short with under a minute left and the Eagles trailing 54-52. 

Neenah salted the game away from the foul line despite missing several attempts in the closing minutes. The Rockets finished 12 of 23 from the line.

"If Amari hits that three when we were down 54-52, I think it's our game," Racine Case coach Jake Berce said. "All season, we've been encouraging Amari to be more aggressive. The more aggressive he is the better he plays. I have to trust the guys in that situation."

Jedkins, an unsigned senior, scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots. But he also had six turnovers.

Senior Terryon Brumby (6-0) had 14 points, six steals, five rebounds and four assists for Racine Case, which forced 14 Neenah turnovers and outscored the Rockets 18-11 in points off of turnovers.

For Neenah, senior forward JJ Paider (6-7) had 17 points, 14 rebounds and four assists while senior point guard Chevalier Emery Jr. (6-0) added 16 points, seven assists and three steals.

"I think JJ is one of the most underrated players in the state in the senior class," Emery said. "He's very versatile and a walking double/double. He's been doing that all season for us."

Emery, a NCAA Division I recruit for Merrimack, made all eight of his free throw tries, including four-of-four in the final minute of the contest.

Neenah advances to the WIAA Division 1 title game for the first time since 2014 with the triumph.


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.


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