Two area boys basketball teams will have a chance at bringing home the gold this week in Madison. Racine Case and Westosha Central will play in the state tournament at the Kohl Center starting tomorrow.
Jedkins and Brumby push Racine Case to state
Amari Jedkins and Terryon Brumby helped push the Racine Case Eagles to state for the first time since 2005 and the first time for the basketball program since 1999. Jedkins posted a big 19 point and 20 rebound performance over conference rival Franklin in a sectional semifinal, while both players posted double-digit performance in both the sectional semifinal and sectional championship games.
“It is sweet redemption at getting to this point again,” Racine Case head coach Jake Berce said of getting to state after having the state run get cut short due to the pandemic in 2020. “I have Amari Jedkins and Terryon Brumby, who were on the 2020 team and have led us back to this point. It is pretty cool how it has come full circle.”
Against Franklin in the sectional semifinal at Kettle Moraine, the Eagles took a 27-18 lead at the half before holding serve in the second half of the 69-56 win. Case hit 21 shots in the win and went 25-for-40 from the free-throw line in the game.
“Our conference has a lot of tough teams as Oak Creek, Franklin, and Bradford were all tough this year,” Berce said of playing conference foes on the way to state.
Junior Cameron Werner led the way with 20 points, while Jedkins had 19 points and 20 rebounds and Brumby had 17 points in the win. Kelton Theile led the way for Franklin with 14 points, while Isaac Verges had 10 in the loss for the Sabers.
“He is a first-team SEC guy and he is getting NCAA Division 1 offers, and he can rebound, score the ball, and is an active defender,” Berce said of Jedkins. “He plays above the rim and is a huge part of our team.”
In the sectional championship game at Mukwonago, Jack Schmidtmann knocked down a buzzer-beating three at the half to tie the game at 23 and the Eagles never looked back on route to a 58-47 win over Waukesha South. Case hit 19 shots in the win including four from three-point range as the Eagles got 17 from Brumby and 14 from Jedkins in the win.
“We decided to go 2-3 zone against them in the second half and that ended up working,” Berce said of what was the biggest difference in the sectional final. “They didn’t get any good looks in the entire second half, so it was excellent defense by us.”
Racine Case currently sits at 22-6 on the season. The Eagles will start state tournament play with a semifinal game against Neenah at 6:35 p.m. at the Kohl Center on Thurs.
Scoring Trio leads Westosha Central to state
Jack Rose, Devin Griffin and Kenny Garth continue to do what they have done all season for the Westosha Central Falcons boys basketball team. All three posted above double-digit efforts to help the Falcons reach the state tournament for the first time since 2018.
“It is a big accomplishment as I am happy for the boys, our school and our community. This is something the boys have talked about, and there is a lot of excitement around the school because of it,” Westosha Central head coach James Hyllberg said.
In a sectional semifinal at Wilmot on March 10, Westosha Central only led Milton by three points at the half before outsourcing the Red Hawks by 23 points in the second half of a 72-52 win. The Falcons hit 25 shots in the win including 10 from three-point territory and made 10 of their 14 free throws in the game.
Rose led the way for the Falcons with 24 points, while Garth had 17 and Griffin had 12 in the win. Rose hit eight shots from the field including four three-pointers, while Garth hit six shots with two of them coming from the perimeter.
“Those guys are close and get along on and off the court,” Hyllberg said of his seniors. “The experience of starting on varsity since their sophomore years has prepared them for what to expect. They want to win and they are hardworking guys as they practice hard and fearless with their play.”
In the sectional semifinal in Watertown on March 12, Westosha Central hit 30 shots as they jumped out to a 17 point lead at the half on route to a 79-48 win over Oregon. The Falcons had five players in double figures as Rose led the way with 19, while Griffin had 18 and Wyatt Anderson had 11 in the game.
Westosha Central currently sits at 25-2 on the season and will take on La Crosse Central at 3:35 p.m. on Friday. Their opponent currently sits at 27-1 on the season.
The Racine County Eye’s Wisco Huddle is your connection to statewide high school sports. Subscribe today to stay up-to-date with your favorite teams.
Follow us on Facebook: Racine County Eye or Kenosha Lens, and Twitter to make sure you get the latest news.