Midwest Players Classic: Friday's results

GAME ONE North Crawford 95, Melrose-Mindoro 78 The game was won in the first half when North Crawford drilled 11 three-point baskets and went into the locker room with a 58-36 lead. Melrose-Mindoro played well in the second half, but couldn't overcome its large deficit. Coming off an emotional Ridge & Valley Conference double overtime loss to Kickapoo on Thursday night, North Crawford shot well for the majority of the contest and finished with 13 three-point baskets. All five starters scored in double figures for the Trojans, who improved to 11-2 under coach Chris Wettstein. Melrose-Mindoro also had some success from beyond the arc with junior [player_tooltip player_id='2844357' first='Will' last='Radcliffe'] hitting six threes and scoring 20 points in a reserve role. STAR OF THE GAME    The sophomore sharpshooter got North Crawford off to a fast start as he buried three triples early in the contest to give the Trojans to lead for good. He has very good shooting form and ball rotation on his jump shot and can knock them down from different spots on the court. Stluka scored 23 points for North Crawford, showing the ability to score in the paint and from the foul stripe in addition to making shots from deep.    BOXSCORE Melrose-Mindoro (36-42 = 78) Kleinsmith 4, McHugh 10, Mulder 4, Cowley 12, Herzberg 4, Sedevie 4, Weiker 0, Schlifer 3, Mulholland 3, Radcliffe 20, Blaken 11, Adams 4. Three-point field goals: Radcliffe 6, McHugh 2, Schlifer 1, Cowley 1, Blaken 1, Mulholland 1. FT: 3-8. Fouled out: None. Record: 3-8. North Crawford (58-37 = 95) S. Stluka 14, Jacobus 16, Bender 23, L. Stluka 23, McCormick 12, O. Blaha 0, Enke 4, Anderson 2, Dudgeon 1. Three-point field goals: Bender 4, L. Stluka 3, S. Stluka 3, McCormick 2, Jacobus 1. FT: 10-15. Fouled out: None. Record: 11-2. GAME TWO Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 53, St. Croix Central 43 Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau got game-changing three-point baskets from [player_tooltip player_id='3020037' first='Carter' last='Giemza'] and [player_tooltip player_id='3020040' first='Mitchell' last='Thell'] in the closing minutes as the Red Hawks broke from a 39-39 deadlock to record the non-league victory. G-E-T improved to 12-2 behind 17 points from sharpshooting sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='2434283' first='Talon' last='Fabian'] and 13 from senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2432831' first='Travis' last='Theisen']. Stevens Point recruit [player_tooltip player_id='1561902' first='Mason' last='Brone'] came off the bench to contribute seven points and some huge foul shots down the stretch. Brone has been dealing with a shoulder injury. Lanky senior [player_tooltip player_id='1561922' first='Matyas' last='Larson'] led St. Croix Central with 16 points as the Panthers fell to 7-5 under coach Matt Bailey. STAR OF THE GAME    Theisen hit some big shots in the second half for Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau in its hard-fought win over St. Croix Central. The mobile forward scored from outside the arc, hitting three triples, but also got inside and scored in the lane and from the foul line en route to 13 points. On the other end of the court, Theisen came up with a big tip of a pass on a pick-and-roll that led to a St. Croix Central turnover late in the game. He also held St. Croix Central senior forward Gunner Grinnell (6-9) to just four points.    BOXSCORE Gale-Ettrick-Treampealeau (29-24 = 53) Giemza 6, Herman 0, Thell 6, Fabrian 17, Theisen 13, Brone 7, Waletzko 4, Foust 0. Three-point field goals: Fabian 3, Theisen 3, Thell 2, Giemza 2. FT: 13-17. Fouled out: None. Record: 12-2. St. Croix Central (20-23 = 43) Rasmussen 6, Larson 16, C. Gottfredsen 4, Siler 10, Grinnell 4, Pierce 3, Pettit 0. Three-point field goals: Larson 2, Siler 2. FT: 4-9. Fouled out: None. Record: 7-5. GAME THREE   Aquinas 77, Regis 66 Aquinas led by as many as 20 points in the second half as the Blugolds took advantage of some defensive breakdowns from Regis to get good looks at the basket. Regis rallied behind a pressing defense and managed to close the gap to six points with about five minutes left before Aquinas made enough foul shots to notch its 12th win in 13 starters. The big three for Aquinas all scored in double figures -- [player_tooltip player_id='2224510' first='Finley' last='Strom'] with 19, [player_tooltip player_id='2140896' first='Calvin' last='Bahr'] with 18 and [player_tooltip player_id='1890447' first='Logan' last='Becker'] with 16. But coach Brad Reinhart also got a big boost off the bench from sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2385479' first='Will' last='Dickinson'], who scored 10 points, and from starter [player_tooltip player_id='3018897' first='Ryan' last='Johnson'], who had 11. Regis, which had a nine-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-2, got 24 points from sophomore point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2615520' first='DJ' last='Cooper'], 19 from senior [player_tooltip player_id='2375323' first='Blake' last='Risler'] and 14 from freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2369880' first='Bennett' last='Risler']. STAR OF THE GAME    A player who has constantly improved over the past few season, Strom led Aquinas with 19 points in the win over Regis. He got into the lane to either score or get fouled. And once at the line, Strom cashed in on 8-of-9 attempts. He also buried a three and played strong defense for the Blugolds. An uncommitted senior wing with a nice upside as he continues to add weight and strength to his frame, Strom is averaging 15.3 ppg for the Blugolds.    BOXSCORE Regis (26-40 -- 66) Cooper 24, Brahmer 5, Bl. Risler 19, Be. Risler 14, Balts 0, Gehling 0, Brogelman 0, And. Ricciardi 4. Three-point field goals: Cooper 4, Be. Risler 2, Bl. Risler 1. FT: 7-8. Fouled out: None. Record: 9-2. Aquinas (37-40 -- 77) Strom 19, Bahr 18, Reinhart 0, Johnson 11, Becker 16, Dickinson 10, Kirchner 3, Berns 0. Three-point field goals: Becker 4, Dickinson 2, Strom 1, Kirchner 1, Johnson 1. FT: 16-20. Fouled out: None. Record: 11-1. GAME FOUR Mineral Point 59, Fall Creek 49 Mineral Point got some big baskets down the stretch to pull away from Fall Creek for an important non-league victory. Seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1874969' first='Drew' last='Aschliman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2917117' first='Keaton' last='Dempsey'] made some baskets when the game was on the line for the Pointers, who improved to 8-3. Aschliman finished with 17 points while Dempsey added 16. Mineral Point helped itself by making all 13 of its foul shots. Fall Creek, which led by slim margins a few times in the second half, got 15 points from junior [player_tooltip player_id='2391346' first='Miles' last='Schmidgall'], a 6-foot-7 forward who also blocked several shots and ripped down a bunch of rebounds for the Crickets, who slipped to 7-2. STAR OF THE GAME    A three-year varsity performer for Mineral Point, Aschliman netted a game-best 17 points for Mineral Point in its 10-point win over Fall Creek. He took and made several big shots in the second half and helped the Pointers overcome a second-half deficit with his long-distance shooting and ability to score off the drive and from the foul line. Known for his game-winning basket as time expired in the 2024 WIAA Division 4 state-championship win over Kenosha St. Joseph, Aschliman and senior [player_tooltip player_id='2917117' first='Keaton' last='Dempsey'] are the leaders for first-year Mineral Point coach Bret McGraw.    BOXSCORE Fall Creek (26-23 = 49) Tumm 5, Wright 3, Tangley 10, Kramer 5, Schmidgall 15, Elkins 5, Seidling 4, Prorok 2. Three-point field goals: Wright 1, Kramer 1. FT: 14-21. Fouled out: None. Record: 8-1. Mineral Point (27-32 = 59) Ripp 8, Bossert 0, Patterson 8, Aschliman 17, Dempsey 16, Vamstad 3, Lee 3, Godfrey 0, H. Schroeder 4, C. Schroeder 0, Sylvester 0. Three-point field goals: Aschliman 3, Dempsey 2, Lee 1. FT: 13-13. Fouled out: None. record: 8-3. GAME FIVE La Crosse Central 53, Little Chute 38 The outside shooting of [player_tooltip player_id='2226077' first='Gabe' last='Servais'] and [player_tooltip player_id='3020583' first='Gander' last='Conrad'] stood out for La Crosse Central along with the sticky defense the Riverhawks played in holding Little Chute to just 38 points. Servais had six triples and 20 points while Conrad added five three-pointers and 15 points as the Riverhawks improved to 8-2. La Crosse Central took a 31-17 halftime lead and was never seriously threatened in the second half. [player_tooltip player_id='3020705' first='Trevor' last='Verhagen'] had 11 points for Little Chute, now 8-5.    Moving without the basketball and finding openings against the Little Chute paid dividends for Servais the Riverhawks of La Crosse Central in their win over Little Chute. Servais had six three-point baskets and 20 points as La Crosse Central posted a convincing victory. You leave the three-year varsity performer open on the perimeter at your own peril and Littler Chute found out the hard way that it's not a good idea. On defense, Servais used his quickness, physical strength and stamina to guard with success throughout the contest.    BOXSCORE Little Chute (17-21 = 38) Verhagen 11, Knudsen 6, Schultz 2, Hermesen 5, Effa 8, Peeters 5, Jansen 1, VandenHeuvel 0, Wittmann 1. Three-point field goals: Knudsen 2, Verhagen 1, Peeters 1, Hermesen 1. FT: 8-13. Fouled out: None. Record: 8-5. La Crosse Central (31-22 = 53) Schilling 0, Wiese 6, Servais 20, Jones 6, Pretasky 4, Conrad 15, Davis 2, Calvert 0. Three-point field goals: Servais 6, Conrad 5. FT: 2-3. Fouled out: None. Record: 8-2.

GAME ONE
North Crawford 95, Melrose-Mindoro 78
The game was won in the first half when North Crawford drilled 11 three-point baskets and went into the locker room with a 58-36 lead. Melrose-Mindoro played well in the second half, but couldn't overcome its large deficit. Coming off an emotional Ridge & Valley Conference double overtime loss to Kickapoo on Thursday night, North Crawford shot well for the majority of the contest and finished with 13 three-point baskets. All five starters scored in double figures for the Trojans, who improved to 11-2 under coach Chris Wettstein. Melrose-Mindoro also had some success from beyond the arc with junior Will Radcliffe Will Radcliffe 5'10" | PG Melrose-Mindoro | 2028 WI hitting six threes and scoring 20 points in a reserve role.

STAR OF THE GAME