Sectionals Preview: Division 2

<p>The WIAA playoffs will resume on Thursday with the sectional semifinals, followed by the sectional finals on Saturday. Here's a look at what's to come in the Division 2 race...</p> <p><strong>SECTIONAL 1 </strong></p> <p><strong>(1) Onalaska vs. La  Crosse Central  - UW-La Crosse</strong></p> <p>Another heavyweight fight between two of the top three favorites to bring home the gold ball. The winner of round three very well could be playing for a state championship later this month. </p> <p>Onalaska took the first two meetings, sweeping the regular season series and winning  the Mississippi Valley Conference. The Hilltoppers, who went undefeated against the state of Wisconsin this season, have a deep and cohesive unit, spearheaded by seniors [player_tooltip player_id="811021" first="Tyrell" last="Stuttley"] (14.1 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="811026" first="Carson" last="Arenz"] (13.8 ppg).</p> <p>La Crosse Central has top notch seniors of their own, a group that’s never missed the state semifinals. Wisconsin commits [player_tooltip player_id="544493" first="Johnny" last="Davis"]  (27.7 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id="880970" first="Jordan" last="Davis"] (13.1 ppg), and  top unsigned senior [player_tooltip player_id="694793" first="Terrance" last="Thompson"] (14.4 ppg) are gearing up for one last go-round, but they’ll have to have their best games of the season to get past Onalaska. </p> <p><strong>(1) Hortonville vs. (3) Mosinee  - at Wausau East</strong></p> <p>Mosinee upset 2-seed Merrill to reach the sectionals.  The Indians finished second in the Great Northern Conference and are led by  senior point guard <strong>Luke Spink</strong> (19.3 ppg).</p> <p>Hortonville was one of the biggest surprise teams in the state and are currently 19-5 overall and finished third in the always-tough Fox Valley Association. The Polar Bears get excellent guard play from  junior [player_tooltip player_id="938201" first="Parker" last="Lawrence"] (14.6 ppg) and senior [player_tooltip player_id="935443" first="Cole" last="Warning"] (12.3 ppg), a Ripon commit.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>SECTIONAL 2</strong></p> <p><strong>(1) Seymour vs. (3) Kaukauna - at Ashwaubenon</strong></p> <p>Seniors [player_tooltip player_id="935489" first="Mason" last="Dorn"] (24.5 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="880981" first="Riley" last="Murphy"] (14.2 ppg) have  been exceptional this season, leading the Thunder to a 23-1 mark this season.  Winning the Bay Conference by two games, Seymour has found some challenges in the playoffs, not exactly breezing to wins over Green Bay Southwest and  Luxemburg-Casco in their first two outings.</p> <p>When Kaukauna is on, they can play with just about anyone. The Ghosts have a senior-laden squad full of college prospects, including  Logan Jedwabny (19.2 ppg),  [player_tooltip player_id="553389" first="Jacob" last="Newhouse"] (17.3 ppg), [player_tooltip player_id="811019" first="Keaton" last="Ferris"] (12.9 ppg) -- a Minnesota State-Mankato commit.  Thursday will be a chance for Kaukauna to atone for a disappointing regular season and reach a sectional final for a fifth-straight year. </p> <p><strong>(1) Nicolet vs. (2) Whitefish Bay - at Port Washington</strong></p> <p>The Blue Devils and Knights split the regular season series, but Nicolet won the  North Shore Conference and haven’t lost since the return of [player_tooltip player_id="544492" first="Jalen" last="Johnson"]. </p> <p>Nicolet has won 13-straight, including two blowouts over Beaver Dam and Cedarburg to begging their playoff run. Johnson has averaged 17.0 points per game in his return for the defending state champs.  Juniors [player_tooltip player_id="929231" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"] (20.8 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="804897" first="James" last="Graham"]  (19.4 ppg) are also having big years for Nicolet.</p> <p>A 10-win ball club a year ago, Whitefish Bay is as improved as anyone in the state, currently sitting with an 18-6 record.  Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="804902" first="Jayden" last="Jackson"] is a big reason for that, having a breakout season while averaging 20.0 ppg. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>SECTIONAL 3</strong></p> <p><strong>(1) Stoughton vs. (3) DeForest - at McFarland</strong></p> <p>These two teams met at the Badger Challenge and it was a good one.  The Vikings were able to pull away late to take a  75-61 victory.</p> <p>Stoughton won the Badger South Conference after winning 13 of their final 14 games and weren’t at full strength during their only loss of that stretch.  Michigan Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id="811849" first="Adam" last="Hobson"] (17.3 ppg) and [player_tooltip player_id="804915" first="Cael" last="McGee"] (15.4 ppg) have been playing well very off each other this season. </p> <p>DeForest finished second in the Badger North Conference this season. The Norskies have a strong backcourt led by senior [player_tooltip player_id="881027" first="Trey" last="Schroeder"] (14.0 ppg) and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="801146" first="Max" last="Weisbrod"] (13.3 ppg). </p> <p><strong>(1) Elkhorn vs. (3) Waukesha West - at Burlington</strong></p> <p>After a slow start, Elkhorn has turned it on during the second half of the season. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="806560" first="Jordan" last="Johnson"] (24.6 ppg) has led the Elks to  13 wins in their last 14 tries and a share of the Southern Lakes Conference. Elkhorn also features UW-Parkside commit [player_tooltip player_id="774486" first="Nick" last="Brown"], a bouncy 6-foot-5 win that’s a difficult matchup. </p> <p>Waukesha West was 11-11 in the regular season, but they’re starting to play their best ball.  The Wolverines upset 2-seed Burlington by 10 points and have recently hung with Division 1 state powers Neenah and Arrowhead.  West has some quality role players who can knock down shots, but they’ll go as far as junior [player_tooltip player_id="830582" first="Cameron" last="Palesse"] (24.4 ppg) takes them. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>SECTIONAL 4</strong></p> <p><strong>(1) Milwaukee Lutheran vs. (3) Wauwatosa West - at Whitefish Bay</strong></p> <p>Milwaukee Lutheran survived a scare in the regional finals, hanging  on for a two-point victory against Wauwatosa East.  The Woodland East champs are 19-4 overall and have won 13 of their last 14 games heading into Thursday. Lutheran has one of the best backcourts in the Division 2 field in seniors Jourdan Weddle (19.7 ppg) and JaVeon Tolliver (18.3 ppg).</p> <p>Wauwatosa West just continues to prove the doubters wrong.  The Trojans had a surprising fourth place finish in the Greater Metro, arguably the toughest and deepest conference in the state.  West also not only knocked off 2-seed Wisconsin Lutheran to reach sectionals, they blasted them by 20 points. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="881012" first="Justin" last="Steinike"] (15.8 ppg) has quietly  been one of the most improved players in the state.</p> <p><strong>(1) New Berlin Eisenhower vs. (6) Catholic Memorial - Greenfield</strong></p> <p>The tournament’s cinderella, Catholic Memorial came out of nowhere to beat 3-seed Milwaukee Bay View and 2-seed Pewaukee in regionals. The Crusaders were just 9-14 in the regular season and their best player, Desmond Polk, was ruled ineligible.  Memorial doesn’t have a star player, but can rely on the toughness and physicality of Wisconsin football commit [player_tooltip player_id="880989" first="Cole" last="Dakovic"]h (10.0 ppg). </p> <p>The Lions have looked the part of a 1-seed, dismantling South Milwaukee and Whitnall en route to sectionals. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id="880038" first="Sam" last="Ludwig"] (18.8 ppg) has been one of the top all-around guards in the state this season, helping Eisenhower gain a share of the Woodland West Conference title. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>