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

A quick look at the Stevens Point roster may impress you with the size of the players. But regardless of their height, the Panthers can throw it in from a long way out.

They proved that Friday night while hitting a Division 1-record 11 3-pointers while cruising past West Allis Central 63-39 to advance to Saturday’s state championship game. SPASH (26-1) has been hitting 44 percent from behind the arc but made 11-of-20 attempts Friday, including seven in the first half in a 63-39 cruise past West Allis Central at the Kohl Center.

“That was kind of neat in our first game down here in the big building,” SPASH coach Scott Anderson said after his team advanced to Saturday night’s Division 1 title showdown against three-time defending champion Germantown.

Five different players had at least one 3-pointer for the Panthers, led by four from Trev Anderson, the coach’s son. Six-foot-six forward Sam Hauser added three and his 6-6 freshman brother Joey added another. Add to that a 29-17 advantage in the usual big man’s role, rebounding, and it was simply too much for the surprising Bulldogs, who had began their tournament run with a 10-12 record.

“We knew they were going to hit shots,” West Allis Central coach David Mlachnik said of the Panthers. “They can shoot it. The one thing we talked about was that we had to stay engaged with them. In the first quarter we did that. But we never got in the flow offensively and in the second quarter you could feel our offensive frustration trickled down into our defense.”

Sam Hauser is Stevens Point’s leading 3-point shooter, going 3-of-6 Friday to match his nearly 50 percent shooting from behind the arc all season.

“I was trying to get into a rhythm (Friday),” said after finishing with a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. “Coach told me to keep shooting and eventually they did fall.”

Bulldogs’ Key player

West Allis Central senior Brandon Key finished his high school career with a team-high 14 points but was the only Bulldogs player to reach double figures on Friday. He found Stevens Point’s offense the toughest part to handle.

“They executed,” he said. “They ran their plays, the picked hard. They just wanted it.”

Mlachnik had some final praise for Key, who led the Bulldogs to their first state tournament since their lone previous appearance in 1947.

“He came in as a freshman and the cool thing was my son came in as a freshman at the same time,” the coach said. “I got to know him more than just a basketball player. What he’s done for the program is unbelievable. He started as a freshman, helped us win our first conference championship since 1979, made all-conference as a sophomore and as a junior, then was conference player of the year this year.”

Just as Stevens Point did in Friday’s first semifinal, Germantown asserted itself to move into the championship game. The Warhawks (27-0) thumped Madison East 82-54 to win their seventh straight state tournament game and set themselves for a possible fourth straight state championship.

“We prepare every day the same way,” Germantown coach Steve Showalter said. “Even next week after the season’s done, we’re going to prepare to win our first summer league game and even our first game next year. We’ve got it rolling now and we want to keep working toward the next thing.”

With Germantown up 15-12 with three minutes left in the first quarter, it went on a 13-3 run to end the period. The Warhawks’ lead never went under 20 points in the second half, allowing Showalter to freely substitute in preparation for the championship game.

That doesn’t mean a rest break, though.

“We’re preparing like we always do,” said Germantown guard Kyle Theis, who was one of five Warhawks in double figures Friday with 13 points. “We were at Madison Edgewood this morning running sprints. I don’t know how many other teams do that before a big game.”

A double-pump buzzer-beater

Germantown senior Dwayne Lawhorn Jr. finished the Warhawks’ first-quarter spurt with a long 3-pointer that dropped after he double clutched the attempt. The shot sequence began after Lawhorn blocked a Madison East shot, then ran the floor in time to get a pass and fire away.

“We preach in practice back-to-back stops,” said Lawhorn, who led all scorers with 17 points. “That hurt (the Purgolders), because they had a little bit of life. And … about the shot, I thought I might as well throw it up there.”

More than a tournament run

Madison East’s first state tourney appearance since 1990 was a bumpy run, not only because of its opponents, but the turbulence in the community around the school following a March 6 incident where Madison police shot a 19-year-old man. That shooting forced the Purgolders’ March 7 regional final to be postponed until March 10.

“I talked in the locker room about that after the game,” East coach Matt Miota said. “The adversity we faced through the sectionals, what’s happening in the community and how we kind of banded together. Our focus, with all that was going on and all the emotion, I can’t say enough about these guys. They showed the community what I got to see every day for the last four months.”

Preliminary attendance for the Friday night Division 1 session was 13,083. That's 1,605 less than last year's D1 session.