WIAA basketball: Kaukauna pulls away late to down Westosha Central in Division 2 semifinal
MADISON – Kaukauna had the state-championship pedigree, the state's Mr. Basketball honoree and a roster loaded with talent.
And as Jaeden Zackery put it, Westosha Central was "just a team from Paddock Lake" nobody had heard of.
For most of a WIAA Division 2 boys state semifinal, Westosha Central hung with the high-powered offense of Kaukauna. But in the end, the Galloping Ghosts simply had too many weapons.
Top-ranked Kaukauna pulled away late in the second half for a 75-63 win over the Falcons on Friday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Kaukana (24-3) will face Milwaukee Washington in the Division 2 state championship game at 6:35 p.m. Saturday.
BOX SCORE:Kaukauna 75, Westosha Central 63
WIAA STATE GLANCE:Game stories, schedule, box scores
"This is a big stage," Westosha Central coach James Hyllberg said. "I thought they handled the pressure very well playing a team like that. They had the experience and the big names, but I thought my guys hung with them."
Central (20-5) trailed, 61-55, with 7:05 to play and had two possessions to cut further into the deficit. The Falcons couldn't convert and were outscored, 14-8, the rest of the way.
Zackery missed a jumper, and Cooper Brinkman misfired on a layup that led to a transition basket by Kaukauna's Eric Carl. Jordan McCabe then hit four straight free throws to push Kaukauna’s lead to 67-55 with 4:41 left.
After shooting 45.2% in the first half, the Central hit 28.9% of their attempts in the second half.
"Fortunately, defensively we were able to get under their ball screen action a little bit better," Kaukauna coach Mike Schalow said. "We didn't let them get to the rim as much. They were settling more for jump shots. They didn't shoot it as well in the second half.
"With five minutes to go, we opened up the floor and allowed Jordan to make some plays off dribble penetration."
Kaukauna connected on 8 of 17 three-point attempts in the first half and closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead, 40-32, at the break.
The Ghosts extended their lead to 48-37 in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Falcons answered with a 9-1 run to get within 49-46 with 13:51 remaining.
With Central adjusting to take away the three-point shot, the Ghosts found another way to beat the Falcons in the second half, due in large part to McCabe.
The West Virginia signee got into the lane at will, impacting the game in a major way with 11 assists despite shooting just 5 of 17.
"We knew if they would spot up and were open, McCabe would find them," Zackery said. "If he wasn’t scoring, he was finding somebody that was open. He’s just a great player."
McCabe finished with 20 points, Carl added 14 points and Donovan Ivory had 12 points and 12 rebounds.
The depth of the Ghosts wore down a Central team that played just six players before benches were emptied late. Kaukauna outscored the Falcons, 19-2, in bench points due mostly to 11 points from Logan Jedwabny.
Kaukauna also had four players hit multiple three-pointers, with Carl and Keaton Ferris knocking down three apiece.
"It is really pick your poison," Carl said. "It has been evident in multiple games this year. They will either double-team or go box-and-one on Jordan and somebody else goes off and has 20-plus points.
"They focus so much on Jordan, and we end up blowing the team out because you can't just focus on one person when you have a team full of guys that can play."
Zackery led Central with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Brinkman added 17 points and seven rebounds.
The Falcons, which were making their first trip to the state tournament in school history, returns 10 of its 13 players, including starters in Zackery, Dylan Anderson and Adam Simmons.
"This experience here is for these guys," Hyllberg said. "It keeps guys hungry because now they know what we can do."