De Pere comes up short in WIAA state semifinal loss to Madison Memorial
The Redbirds can't keep pace in the second half, falling to Madison Memorial in a WIAA Division 1 state boys basketball semifinal.
MADISON - A big second-half surge helped lift Madison Memorial to a 75-62 win over De Pere in a WIAA Division 1 state semifinal March 20 at the Kohl Center. Memorial (27-2) advances to play top-ranked Wisconsin Lutheran (29-0) in the WIAA D1 state title game March 21. Tip-off is scheduled 15 minutes after completion of the D2 final.
"I thought Madison Memorial played very well," De Pere coach Brian Winchester said. "They got after us on the boards – that was a factor in the game. They slowed us down with their zone a little bit.
And we didn't get as many stops as we needed to, which is the bottom line. " Memorial led De Pere 33-32 after a first half that saw 14 lead changes. Memorial connected on seven 3-pointers, but De Pere stayed within striking distance.
Madison Memorial made its move midway through the second half, outscoring the Redbirds 19-5 during a nearly 8-minute stretch. That helped give the Spartans control of the game, and they outlasted De Pere (25-4) the rest of the way. "I think we're a very unique team in the sense that we can play very fast, but we can also play very slow," Memorial coach Steve Collins said.