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D1 championship notes
By Dick Knapinski
For Wishoops.net

Division 1: Memorial survives historic game

Coaches and players struggled to find the words to adequate describe the wild, three-overtime Division 1 championship game Saturday night, after Madison Memorial edged De Pere 80-78. It was the first triple-overtime championship game in state history.

“I’ve come to these games since I was nine years old, and I don’t think I’ve seen or experienced a game like that,” Memorial coach Steve Collins said after winning his third state title. “It was two great teams just fighting. I’m proud of my guys and I’m  proud of the De Pere guys.”

Redbirds coach Brian Winchester, even in defeat, managed to find some perspective of what the game meant on the state’s biggest stage.

“We took them right down to the wire,” he said. “There are important life lessons here. Sometimes you work as hard as you possibly can for everything that you ever want, and for some reason they just don’t work out. All you can do is start getting after it again.”

Recurring hero

Memorial sophomore Brendan Ortiz wasn’t figuring to be the main guy for the Spartans on Saturday, but circumstances threw him into the spotlight. In response, Ortiz:

·         Hit a 22-foot three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 63-63;
·         Made two free throws with six seconds left in the first overtime to tie it at 68 and force the second extra period;
·         Nailed two free throws with 15 seconds remaining in overtime No. 2 for a 72-72 tie;
·         Made the jumper with two seconds left in the third overtime to give Memorial an 80-78 lead, then stole De Pere’s inbounds pass to seal the win.

Ortiz’s reaction, starting with the shot that saved Memorial’s season and sent the game to the first overtime?

“The shot really wasn’t supposed to be for me; I was supposed to get it out to a teammate but I ended up being open,” he said.

“You know, Brendan hasn’t been shooting the ball well,” Collins said. “I think his basket (Friday) was his first in tournament time. But I know he can score. He sure doesn’t play like a sophomore.”

No time to think

De Pere senior guard Reece Zoelle, who finished with 19 points, was a stand-up guy in the media room when describing the time out he called in the first overtime when the Redbirds had none remaining.

With De Pere clinging to a 68-66 lead after with Mason Mocarski’s three-pointer with 16 seconds remaining, Zoelle stole the ball from Tre Burnette but slipped to the floor, then called a time out that De Pere didn’t have. That led to a technical foul and Ortiz’s two free throws that caused the second extra period.

“It was a crucial play in the game, obviously,” Zoelle said. “I’m kicking myself in the rear end about it. I stole the ball and I was on the floor, and there would be a jump ball or I’d travel or dribble it out of bounds, so I just reacted.”

Battle of attrition

As the minutes expanded, the 51 fouls called caught up to both teams. De Pere lost starters Chris Kading and Brett VandenBergh while Memorial had three starters — Jamar Morris, Miles Chamberlain and Junior Lomomba – who fouled out.

“We had kids in positions we had to fill where they probably haven’t played before,” Winchester said. “(Memorial) had the same position. It was an odd battle of trying to find matchups, trying attack their zone and get stops on defense.”

Collins noted that when Kading fouled out for De Pere, it allowed the Spartans to stop worrying about De Pere’s inside game as much.

“If you would have told me that we’d go to overtime and I’d have Junior and Miles and (Morris) sitting next to me, and that I’d be sitting here afterward happy, I call you crazy,” Collins said.

Football drill

Collins noted that Memorial alumnus and current NBA player Wesley Matthews stopped at the Spartans’ practice over the NBA all-star break and offered a tip that paid off on Saturday night.

“He told (Ortiz) to drive to the basket with the ball tucked under his arm like a football,” Collins said. “You saw that’s exactly what Brendan did when he went up and drew the foul in overtime.”

Quotable

“I didn’t know there were two seconds left. I was already heading into the stands to hug my wife.” – Collins on the end of the game, after Ortiz’ shot gave Memorial a lead but De Pere called time out to set up one final play.

Note:  Attedance for the evening session was 10,753.