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

Young Coggs Prep went to the foul line a WIAA Division 5-record 45 times Saturday during its state-title game against Hillsboro.

The Eagles converted on 28 of those attempts and held the lead for the entire second half in recording a 56-50 victory over the Tigers.

The victory put Young Coggs Prep on the prep basketball map in Wisconsin as the Eagles were making their first trip to the state tournament in just their sixth year of WIAA play.

The private, Christian, school choice grades 9-12 school of 188 students is located at 35th and Hampton on the northwest side of Milwaukee and had played in Division 2 and Division 4 before joining Division 5 last season.

Young Coggs Prep completes its season with a 21-5 record under coach Tim Richert.

"(This title) will let people know about our school," said senior point guard DeAngelo Crawford, who finished with 20 points and five assists while playing all 32 minutes. "We are a Christian school with a lot of good athletes."

Crawford stepped up his game big time when classmate Tiwon Jones had to sit 10 minutes because of foul trouble.

Crawford handled the ball and set up his teammates in addition to scoring.

"We count on D-Boy (Crawford) to carry us whenever Tiwon is in foul trouble," Richert said. "He had to carry the load for us and he did an excellent job. He showed great leadership."

Jones compared Crawford to Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers in terms of being a leader and the guy who makes Young Coggs Prep go in the post-game interview room.

But Jones also played a huge role for the Eagles.

He scored 24 points and made 14 of 21 foul attempts as he continually beat defenders off the dribble on aggressive drives to the basket. 

The 6-foot-1 senior guard made a name for himself at the Kohl Center as he scored 27 points in the D5 semifinal victory over Washburn. Jones plans to play for Richert's older brother, Brian, in the post-graduate program at St. John's Military Academy in Delafield next year.

Young Coggs Prep overcome the loss of freshman Jontae Peterson, who played just four minutes before sustaining a sprained ankle. Peterson, who averaged 14.6 points per game during the season, watched the rest of the game from the Eagles' bench.

Sophomore Trivoris Griffin came off the bench to hit two three-point baskets in Peterson's absence as the Eagles led the final 26 minutes of the contest.

"We went through some adversity today with Jontae going down, but we had some kids step up," Richert said. "Griffin came in the game and made two huge threes off the bench. He's one of the best shooters in the state when he gets his feet set."

Meanwhile, Hillsboro played well enough to remain within striking distance throughout the entire contest.

Junior Max Stockwell (6-4) was particularly impressive for the Tigers as he finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds.

Twenty turnovers and allowing 19 points off of turnovers hurt Hillsboro, which completes its season with a 23-6 record and returns nine juniors, including all five starters.

"I thought the story of the game early was our adjusting to the speed of the game they were playing," Hillsboro coach Curt Hildreth said. "We did adjust, and we got the looks we thought we'd get, but we just came up short.

"I told the kids after the game this is the greatest accomplishment in Hillsboro basketball history. We have a lot to be proud of."