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The basket seemed large for the Aquinas squad in the first half as the Blugolds offense shot 66% from the field and 54% from three to build a 45-27 halftime lead.
Head coach Brad Reinhart attributed that offensive outburst to the collection and balance of his team. The Blugolds got out in transition and played at a pace that Coach Reinhart said was "familiar".
Four different players from Aquinas hit a three point shot over a four minute stretch in which the lead swelled from 13-7 to 29-17.
Aquinas pulled Bonduel big man Ryan Westrich out of the paint and forced him to play defense in space before Bonduel switched to a 2-3 zone. From there, the Blugolds went on a shooting spree.
The second half was a different story as the scoring slowed, but Aquinas had already built its cushion.
Senior Treyton Bahr scored 14 of his team leading 20 points in the first half and took advantage of scoring opportunities from all three levels on the court. Not only that, but he facilitated well in transition, finishing with 9 assists.
Logan Becker and Clavin Bahr found success from inside and out for the Blugolds. Bahr, a sophomore, did most of his damage around the rim, scoring 15 points on 7 of 11 shooting. Becker, the junior 1,000 point scorer, knocked down shots from mid range and deep to finish with 16.
To get to this game, Aquinas had to get past Mineral Point on Thursday in the semifinals, a team which broke the Blugolds heart a year ago in defeat.
Logan Becker described the "taste" it felt to play at Madison and how he and the rest of the team got to work immediately following last year's loss to get back.
That sort of determination makes things easy on a coach as Brad said they "never had a day in practice where we (the coaches) had to come in and push."
For Bonduel, it was the Bears first ever trip to Madison and they'll leave with a silver ball. Head coach Duke Copp expressed the importance of representing their small town and told his team coming into the weekend that there is a "best outcome, but not a bad outcome".
A typically good shooting Bears team finished just 7 of 28 from beyond the arc.
Junior Ryan Westrich finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, but had to to earn those numbers as Aquinas did a good job of matching his physicality.
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