Before Madison:
No. 1-seeded Reedsville Panthers won in their return to the tournament for the first time in 80 years. They won a title back when there was only one division.
The Panthers hold the distinction of being the smallest town to win a title, having a population of 476 in 1946.
Meanwhile, for the No. 4-seeded Sheboygan Lutheran Crusaders, this was their fifth trip to Madison. They hold two state titles from 2012 and 2019.
The Panthers were led by their Senior Ben Prochnow, who averaged a double of 21.1 points and 11.0 assists per game. Following right behind him is Senior Arden Strenn, who averaged 17.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.
The Crusaders were led by Senior Brennen Hackbarth; he’s averaged 21.7 PPG and 7.9 RPG. Sitting behind him is Sophomore McCoy Michael, who scored 13.3 PPG.
First Half – Contested Shootouts
Both offenses started hot with countless buckets, resulting in a 13-12 Sheboygan Lutheran lead six minutes in.
By the seven-minute mark, both offenses could not slow down. Being tied at 23-23 before a layup scored by the Crusaders took the lead.
The Panthers’ leading regular-season scorer, Prochnow, made a contested layup to retake the lead, 28-25. Then the score tied again after a completed and-1 from the Crusaders’ Oliver Leibham. Drawing past the five–minute mark, Crusaders’ Michael retook the lead with a layup.
Afterwards, Oliver Leibham once again made another contested layup. The Panthers responded back with a deep three to keep the score at 31-32. Hackbarth for the Crusaders made another contested layup to go up by three. But Prochnow responded back with another contested layup.
The sequence did not end there as Hackbarth made another layup. Lastly, Jack Schwahn of the Panthers responded with a bucket to keep Reedsville in the game, 38-35, by the time the buzzer went off for the first half.
Hackbarth led the team with 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Leibham had 15 points.
For Sheboygan Lutheran, Prochnow and Schwahn were tied at 11 points in the period. That helped contribute to the team scoring 32 points in the paint in total.
Second Half – Free Throws Win The Game
Both defenses continued to struggle within the first four-minutes of the period, with both teams trading buckets and the lead.
As the game progressed to the nine-minute mark, neither team slowed down as the lead remained Panthers 51-47. After a pass interception from Leibham, Hackbarth got fouled en route to knocking down both of his free throws, reducing the lead to 51-49. Michael then put in a second-chance basket to go up by four.
After a minute had passed the midpoint of the period, Oliver Leibham completed two and-1’s to give his team the biggest of the day with a 57-53 advantage.
Reedsville kept it close, only down three at 65-62. Prochnow made two free throws after being fouled on a layup attempt to make the score 64-65. The Crusaders responded with one out of two free throws made by Hackbarth.
The Panthers began to pressure the ball handlers as the clock ticked towards the three-minute mark.
Schwahn scored a layup to keep the score at 68-66. After a timeout, the Panthers stole the ball from Leibham. Hackbarth tied the game at 68 after two free throws.
Zach Leonhard of the Crusaders retook the lead with a contested layup. At 36.2 seconds, Ben Prochnow made a crucial and-1 to take the lead again, 71-70. However, Arden Strenn fouled Hackbarth, allowing him to take the lead 71-72 before Prochnow and the Panthers took the lead back in under 10 seconds, 73-72 with a contested layup.
The Panthers also scored another 2 to increase the lead. At the 1.5-second mark, Connor McDonald of Reedsville would seal the deal with a game-winning steal.
At the buzzer, Reedsville won it 75-72.
Prochnow’s 26-point game performance, featuring 6-6 from the free throw line, was the difference in the game. Despite the Crusaders scoring 56 in the paint, the Panthers were just able to overcome the deficit from the first half.
Coming Up:
The Panthers will now face the Southwestern Wildcats in the title game. Prochnow and the Panthers will be looking to cement history in WIAA lore.