Feb. 17—Coaches say they want their teams playing at their best at the end of the season.
The Regis boys basketball squad seems to have taken that to heart.
The Ramblers are on a 10-game win streak as the playoffs tip off, with the latest triumph coming against Cadott 70-31 in the Division 4 regional quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Regis is scorching hot, and that’s a good place to be come tournament time.
“We do feel we’re playing our best basketball here in the second half of the season, and especially the last three weeks,” Regis coach Bryant Brenner said. “That’s exciting. That’s right where you want to be as you head into the playoffs.”
The Ramblers pulled away with a 19-0 run in the first half of Tuesday’s playoff opener.
The Hornets put up a fight early on, leading for a good chunk of the first five minutes, but ultimately couldn’t overcome some key absences from its roster. Cadott brought an 11-man team which featured seven freshmen to Eau Claire as some of the Hornets’ regulars couldn’t participate due to COVID-19 guidelines, according to coach Dusty Burish.
Regis hasn’t lost since Jan. 5, when it fell to Durand 60-51. The Ramblers have rattled off 10 consecutive wins since, despite seeing their season paused for three weeks to quarantine last month.
The long layoff didn’t leave any rust on Regis, who returned to action with a 66-61 win over Western Cloverbelt champion Fall Creek. It’s been a seamless ride since.
“We came out of the quarantine break and started playing our best basketball,” Brenner said.
In the 10-game stretch, all but two of Regis’ victories came by double figures.
Brenner said the team has been shooting better lately and showed resiliency following a 2-7 start to the season.
“It helps when you’re shooting the ball and it goes in the hole,” he said. “It makes the X’s and O’s look a lot better. We’ve shot it a lot better in the second half of the season. We’ve tried to cut down on turnovers. Other than that, there’s not a lot different that we’re doing.”
JP Wolterstorff led Regis with 20 points to kick off the postseason campaign. The senior has scored 15-plus points in all but one game this season. Zander Rockow and Kendon Krogman added 15 and 13 points, respectively, for the Ramblers.
The Hornets couldn’t be faulted for their effort, but faced tough circumstances for their playoff debut with so many youngsters put into action. Cole Sopiarz scored 14 points to lead the team.
“I was pleased with the effort,” Burish said. “I was running with a young group earlier in the season, but then when we had those three varsity players out, I had to really resort to my freshman group. But I was very happy with the effort. The boys kept playing hard. Late in the game there was some nice ball movement and some good shots taken.”
The Ramblers, seeded No. 3 in their regional, will take on second-seeded Spring Valley in Friday’s regional semifinals. The Cardinals, who finished atop the Dunn-St. Croix Conference, present one of Regis’ toughest challenges since taking on Fall Creek.
“It’s going to be a tremendous battle. We know we’re the underdog,” Brenner said. “Spring Valley’s a great team. They won their conference, and they’ll be ready to go for us. It’s going to take everything we’ve got to play with them.”
Regis 70, Cadott 31
Cadott (4-13): Cole Sopiarz 14, Jordan Peters 6, Ryan Sonnentag 5, Nolan Blum 4, Brodee Burish 2.
Regis (12-7): JP Wolterstorff 20, Zander Rockow 15, Kendon Krogman 13, Josh Brickner 9, Jeffrey Ritger 4, David Haselwander 3, Alex Leis 2, Jack Weisenberger 2, Aaron Haselwander 2.
3-point goals: Cadott 2 (Sonnentag, Sopiarz), Regis 9 (Wolterstorff 4, Brickner 3, D. Haselwander, Krogman).
Halftime: Regis 43-12.
