WIAA basketball tournament
Brookfield East, Milwaukee Washington advance to title games.
MADISON – Less than 2 minutes into the second half Friday, Milwaukee Washington was in trouble.
The Purgolders were down by eight points to La Crosse Central. They were having a tough time stopping the defending state champion on one end of the floor and struggling to score against the Red Raiders’ matchup zone at the other.
It was a gut-check moment and Washington responded in a fashion that would have made proud the tough teams and players that brand the program’s rich history.
Spurred by an increasingly tightening defense and a big second half by senior guard Jordan Dinsmore, the Purgolders stormed back to beat Central, 70-58, in a WIAA Division 2 state
semifinal at the Kohl Center.
The victory sends No. 3 seed Washington (24-3) to the title game, where it will face top-seeded Kaukauna at 6:35 p.m. Saturday. The win also snapped a couple of droughts. This is Washington’s first appearance in the final since 2000 and the first time since 2012 that a City Conference team will play in the championship game.
“They are so long and athletic, and we saw that on film,” Central coach Todd Fergot said. “They’re loaded. Our guys battled them. I think we maybe wore down a little bit in the second half, but their length and athleticism and size made a huge difference.”
Dinsmore, a 6-foot-3 guard, finished with 16 points and hit 3 threepointers in the second half that helped the Purgolders take control. Michael Foster, a 6-9 freshman, hit 8 of 13 shots to score 16 points plus blocked three shots. Junior wing Deontay Long posted 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists.
It was also a good day for the team’s unsung heroes. Junior guard Johntae Martin added 11 points on 5for-5 shooting, had two steals and always seemed to get a hand on loose balls. Senior guard Akeir Mckinney had nine points and went 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the final 2 minutes. The Purgolders also got 11 minutes of quality defense from senior Jerrod Logan after regular reserve Remon Blakely injured his ankle during the shoot-around.
Dinsmore, the team’s lone captain, scored 14 of his points in the second half. Nine came during a 31⁄2-minute stretch when he splashed 3 three-pointers that were part of an 11-2 run that turned a six-point deficit into a 45-42 lead.
“I didn’t want to go home tonight, so you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to get the win,” Dinsmore said
Dinsmore’s hot streak forced Central to come out of a zone defense that had slowed Washington late in the first half. But even before that stretch Washington’s defense had started to settle in.
Martin’s steal and layup when Central had a chance to go up 10 started the comeback. The Red Raiders, who shot 59.1% (13 for 22) in the first half, had just four baskets during the final 16 minutes and shot 24% (6 for 25) in the second half.
Free-throw shooting kept Central in the game and that lasted only so long.
“In the second half our defense set the tone,” Washington coach Freddie Riley said. “We started to get a couple of steals. We got two steals up top, went in transition, scored those layups. We got a couple of key rebounds that started us in transition, that enabled us to get some points and then they continued to be solid and not be undisciplined.”
Washington had momentum for much of the second half, but it wasn’t until the final 4 minutes that it finally gained separation. Ahead by three, a jumper by Foster started a 7-0 run that pushed the lead to 61-51.
Washington was just 2 minutes 18 seconds from its first title game since 2000. The last time the Purgolders won a title was 1993, when they beat Stevens Point for the Division 1 crown.
“We put our city on our back," Riley said."We put our community on our back and we’re proud of how these men represent themselves and their community and they represent themselves and their alumni. They try to do it the right way.”