The No. 1-seeded Slinger Owls beat the No. 4-seeded McFarland Spartans in its first appearance since 1977. For the Spartans, this was their third trip to State.
Before Madison
The Owls were led by Star Junior Jack Kohnen, who averaged a double-double of 20.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. Kohnen is the fourth-ranked player in the class of 2027 as a 4-star recruit. He has offers from Indiana, Iowa State, Iowa, Nebraska, and Notre Dame. He is followed by Sophomore and brother, Jack Kohnen, who has averaged 16.2 PPG. He is also a 3-star recruit for the class of 2028, being ranked first in the state. He has offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Nebraska and Wisconsin.
The Spartans were led by Junior Eli Krueger, who has averaged a double-double of 20.2 PPG and 10.5 RPG. Krueger has a D1 Offer from UW-Green Bay. He is followed by fellow Junior Garret Crull, who has averaged 16 PPG.
First Half – Non-stop Aggression
After the first four minutes, the Spartans lead the Owls 5-4. Both offenses moved quickly, but it didn’t lead to much scoring, resulting in a Slinger lead of 5-9 by the 12-minute mark. Slinger slowly started scoring as Bryson Fogle would make an and-1 in the paint.
By the midway point, McFarland trailed 18-9 after their Forward, Krueger, made two free throws. Crull of Slinger cut the lead down to 20-15 with back-to-back layups. The Owls’ Bryson Fogle would make a response with an and-1. Crull would make a three-pointer to cut it down to 26-20 couple of possessions later.
As the game moved towards zero, both teams were still actively moving on offense, with the Owls leading 26-23. Joe Fortune of McFarland made a layup, which was followed by Jack Kohnen’s layup. Keeping the lead still by three at 28-25. After fouls were exchanged, the period ended in a narrow 30-28 McFarland lead.
Eli Kruger led the half with 17 points and six rebounds for the Spartans, while Jack Kohnen led the Owls with 12 points and six rebounds. Both teams have performed equally against each other, with the exception of Slinger’s 11 fastbreak points.
Second Half – Jack in the Paint
Right from opening possession, both teams maintained their physical playstyle. Four minutes in, Jack Kohnen knocked down a dunk in front of the Slinger student section, causing absolute madness in the stands. Slinger was able to take back the league in five minutes with a lead of 34-40.
Slinger still maintains its lead and grew it to a 10-point gap of 47-37. The Spartans’ defense struggled with defensive transitions, allowing the Slinger offense to keep scoring. The McFarland offense has struggled with keeping up.
Some players, such as Kam Meinholdt, have missed two wide-open threes. By the near midway point of the period, Slinger has grown their lead to a comfortable 55-40. Jack Kohnen intercepted a pass from McFarland and air-dunked it into the net, making the students even more amped up. The dunk further contributed to the growing lead of 63-40.
By the 7:30 mark, the Slinger offense had begun to slow down its pace and focused on chewing down the clock. Making the already quick Spartans offense move faster on its feet. At the end of regulation, Slinger won a dominant 83-56 victory. Jack Kohnen’s 35 points and 10 rebound double-double was what determined the result of this contest.
Coming Up
The Owls will face off vs. the Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes with the hopes of bringing home a state title to Slinger.