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

Surreal finish lifts Sheboygan Lutheran past Racine Lutheran
 
Sheboygan Lutheran senior Sam Dekker couldn’t have scripted a better ending to his remarkable high school basketball career.
 
Dekker’s team trailed Racine Lutheran 63-55 with just 1 minute, nine seconds remaining in the WIAA Division 5 championship game Saturday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
 
But in the final 50 seconds of play, the 6-foot-8 Dekker, who was named Mr. Basketball in the state on Friday and presented with the award on Saturday, scored 12 points, connecting on three three-pointers and a conventional three-point play.
 
His last three-point shot was a thing of beauty and one state prep hoop fans will be talking about for decades.
 
With Sheboygan Lutheran trailing 66-64 with 12 seconds left, Dekker took an inbounds pass, dribbled up the right side of the floor, came to a jump stop beyond the three-point line and rose up over two defenders.
 
His arcing three-point shot hit nothing but net with the final seconds ticking off the clock and sent the crowd into a frenzy.
 
Racine Lutheran’s Clay Stevens had a half-court heave that was off the mark as the final horn sounded, giving Sheboygan Lutheran an improbable 67-66 victory.
 
“I was surprised how easily I got open,” Dekker said of the final play. “I was able to catch (the inbounds pass) with space and look up the floor. During the timeout before the shot, I told the guys I wasn’t going to tie the game, but win it.”
 
That he did. His shot heard-round the state capped an incredible 40-point showing for the future University of Wisconsin Badger. 
 
“We had confidence in Sam,” said his father and coach, Todd Dekker. “He had hit those two big threes before so he had confidence taking that last shot.”
 
Racine Lutheran (26-3), which missed six free throws in the final 1:24 to keep the door open for Sheboygan Lutheran, actually defended Dekker well for most of the game. But his outburst in the final minute of play was most definitely the talk of the tournament on Championship Saturday.
 
“It was a great game,” Racine Lutheran coach Jeff Christensen said. “The kid (Dekker) is a tremendous basketball player. He hit three tough threes in the last minute.
 
“The last two threes he hit, we had a double-team on him. Our kids were where they were supposed to be.”
 
Zastrow provides huge contribution to Sheboygan Lutheran’s first state title
 
Sophomore Tyler Zastrow may not look like an intimidating basketball player.
 
Far from it.  
 
He stands just 5-9 and often has the look of the last kid picked for a pick-up game at the local YMCA over the lunch hour.
 
But his play Saturday against Racine Lutheran was absolutely huge.
 
Zastrow finished with 15 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal, helping the Crusaders to their first state basketball championship.
 
“We talk to Tyler daily about how much he affects our team,” Sam Dekker said. “He scored 27 points in our sectional final game.
 
“He’s a little guy with a big heart. He has unlimited confidence in his game. He works hard every day. He had 15 today and made big plays when we needed him to.”
 
Tough way to end career for strong senior class at Racine Lutheran
 
Peter Drummond, Ty Demuth, Tyler Naegeli, Neko Graf and Jared Kosmala have formed a rock-solid nucleus for the highly successful Racine Lutheran basketball program over the past several years.
 
The five seniors played their final game of prep basketball Saturday, ending a memorable 26-3 season in very difficult fashion in their one-point loss to Sheboygan Lutheran.
 
Drummond had 19 points to lead the way for Racine Lutheran while Demuth added 15 and Graf finished with 13.
 
Racine Lutheran shot 55 percent from the field, but just 54 percent from the foul line.
 
“It’s tough,” Christensen said. “It’s no fun sitting in this position, I can tell you that. It’s going to be a long couple of weeks before we get over this.”
 
Racine Lutheran defeated Sheboygan Lutheran 73-55 back in December at the Wisconsin Basketball Yearbook Shootout at Concordia University in Mequon, but Christensen was very impressed with how Dekker’s team has improved over the past couple of months.
 
“We pretty much shut everybody else (but Sam Dekker) down, but they have a good basketball team,” Christensen said. “Their kids have grown a lot over the year.”