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

The night of the Showalters
 
To say it was a night to remember for Steve, Zak and Jake Showalter, not to mention the entire Germantown basketball program and community, would be a gross understatement.
 
Playing against defending WIAA Division 1 state champion Madison Memorial in a highly anticipated semifinal contest Friday evening at the Kohl Center, the Showalters each played a huge role in helping Germantown roll to a stunningly easy 81-43 victory.
 
Now in his 12^th year as the Warhawks’ head coach, Steve Showalter called the shots from the sidelines, guiding the team to its 27^th victory without a defeat.
 
Zak Showalter, the 6-foot-3 senior guard headed to Wisconsin to play college basketball for coach Bo Ryan and the Badgers, delighted a huge crowd with his hustle, athleticism, basketball I.Q. and skill.
 
He finished with 22 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals, not to mention a couple of thunderous dunks, an incredible blocked shot and a behind-the-back assist in transition.
 
And Jake Showalter, a sharpshooting 6-2 sophomore, came off the bench to match his older brother in points with 22, making 6-of-8 attempts from three-point range.
 
Germantown certainly got some big contributions from others – junior Luke Fischer (6-10) had 10 points and six rebounds, senior Josh Mongan (5-10) had 10 points and seven assists and senior Daniel Studer (6-7) had eight points and eight rebounds – but the night belonged to the Showalters.
 
“The weight room and strength and conditioning program Zak does year-round have been very good to him,” coach Showalter said in explaining the eye-popping athleticism of his oldest son.
 
“I know who I want on my team and I know who the best player in the state is. He does everything it takes to win a game. He wants a ‘W’ more than anything else.”
 
Jake Showalter came into the contest averaging 7.6 points per game, but he is the Warhawks’ top three-point shooter, making 40 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
 
“Shoot around went really good today so I had a good feeling going into the game,” Jake Showalter said.
 
Rebounding edge propels Germantown past Madison Memorial
 
Madison Memorial’s ability to attack the glass has been a huge part of its success under coach Steve Collins this season.
 
But against Germantown, the Spartans were beaten badly on the boards. The Warkhawks posted a resounding 44-23 rebounding advantage, including a 14-7 edge in offensive rebounds.
 
“I thought it would come down to the boards,” coach Showalter said. “Studer was amazing on the boards tonight and (Jon) Averkamp came off the bench and did a great job as well.
 
“A week is a long time to think about Madison Memorial,” coach Showalter said. “It’s a good thing, but it’s a stressful thing. Our goal was to go right at them. We wanted to attack. As soon as you back up against Memorial, they attack and that’s when they have you.”
 
Tough ending for defending state champions
 
Making its ninth straight trip to the WIAA State Tournament, Madison Memorial was expected to give Germantown one of its toughest challenges of the season Friday.
 
But that certainly didn’t come to be as Germantown took a 44-30 halftime lead and then outscored the Spartans, 37-13, in the second half en route to its thoroughly impressive victory.
 
“Sometimes you’re the hammer and sometimes you’re the nail,” Memorial coach Steve Collins said. “That’s a really good basketball team.”
 
Memorial (25-2) had a couple of key injuries during the game as senior Junior Lomomba (6-5) suffered a pulled hamstring late in the first half. The Cleveland State recruit came back to play in the second half, but his effectiveness was limited during the second 16 minutes due to the injury.
 
“There was a wet spot on the court and I slipped,” said Lomomba, who finished with 18 points.
 
Collins felt the injuries to Lomomba and senior Jamar Morris, who sustained a broken foot early in the second half, took away any chance the Spartans had against the state’s top-ranked team.
 
“With Junior, what I noticed was that he wasn’t able to accelerate and go to a higher gear like he normally does,” Collins said. “It didn’t help that Popcorn (Morris) broke his foot and Junior pulled a hamstring, but Germantown is a really, really good team. All the credit goes to them.”