Cartier’s buzzer-beater lifts Spartans
MADISON – When his team needed him most, Brookfield East’s Patrick Cartier delivered.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward hit a game-winner at buzzer to lift the Spartans to a 52-50 overtime victory over Sun Prairie on Friday night in the semifinals of the WIAA Division 1 state tournament at the Kohl Center. Up next for East will be Oshkosh North in the title game at 8:15 p.m. Saturday.
Cartier finished with 20 points on 9for-14 shooting for the Spartans, who improved to 25-2. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman guard Hayden Doyle added 11 points and went 3 for 4 from three-point range.
Sun Prairie (25-2) got 13 points from senior guard/forward Marlon Ruffin and 10 from sophomore forward Jalen Johnson.
Cartier’s game-winner capped a tightly played game in which neither team led by more than seven points. In the end, surviving and advancing for Brookfield East meant overcoming a scoreless stretch of 6-plus minutes at the end of regulation and coming up with a huge defensive stop on Sun Prairie’s final possession of overtime that set up the winning bucket.
After forcing a turnover with 1 minute 32 seconds left, Sun Prairie held the ball for the final shot. The Cardinals had gotten the clock to the final 10 seconds when sophomore Sam McGath stole a pass intended for Johnson and raced toward his basket. He didn’t score, but he did draw an intentional foul on Caden White.
The call proved huge because McGath missed both free throws. But rather than Sun Prairie having a chance to get the ball back, Brookfield East inbounded the ball underneath its basket.
McGath inbounded the ball to Cartier and the Hillsdale College recruit sent East to its first state final.
To get to overtime, Brookfield East had to survive a scoreless stretch of 6:21 at the end of regulation.
That’s when Doyle’s three-pointer gave the Spartans a 46-40 lead.
Soon, however, Sun Prairie’s defense began to finally wear on the Spartans. They turned the ball over three times in their final four possessions. One of the turnovers led to the game-tying bucket, a three-pointer from sophomore Colin Schaefer. The other nearly allowed Sun Prairie to win the game.
The Cardinals took possession with 2:16 left after Johnson stripped Doyle in the post. They ran down the clock from there, using a couple of timeouts to break up the time.
The last break came with 10 seconds left and set the stage for the potential winning play for Sun Prairie. The team didn’t draw iron, though. Marty Strey's fired up an air ball to end regulation and send East to its second overtime game of the season.
The first time it beat Wauwatosa West. This time it fell behind twice but came back to take a 49-48 lead with 2:33 to play on a three by Doyle. The next possession Michael Poker hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game with 1:58 left.
Ruffin, however, tied the game with two free throws 7 seconds later to set the stage for the finish.