DOUBLE WHAMMY
North derails East’s title hopes
MADISON – Brookfield East kept hanging around, and Oshkosh North provided an opening.
But the run the Spartans needed just never came. Tyrese Haliburton eventually helped North pull away, and East was denied its first state title with a 61-44 loss in the WIAA Division 1 state championship game Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
Patrick Cartier scored the first basket of the second half
to pull East to within 26-22, but a three-point play by Matt Hickey and a transition layup by Gout Deng gave North a 31-22 lead.
North would score just four points over the next 6 minutes, 4 seconds. However, East couldn’t take advantage, shaving just one point off the deficit..
Tyrese Haliburton converted a 3point play to give North its first doubledigit lead at 38-27 with 9:38 remaining.
That was the beginning of the Iowa State commit scoring 13 straight points for North, including a three-pointer that made it 48-34 with 6:57 left.
East struggled to get the ball inside to Cartier against North’s 1-3-1 zone, especially in the first half.
Spending most possessions passing around the perimeter, East had 21 of its 39 field-goal attempts come from beyond the arc.
East had open looks at three-pointers throughout the night but couldn’t knock them down, shooting just 6 for 21 from distance.
Making just two two-point field goals in the first half, East scored 12 of its 20 first-half points on three-pointers and made just two two-point field goals.
East finished 15 for 39 from the field and were oustcored by 15 points at the free-throw line, as North made 23 of 28 free-throw attempts.
North used a 6-0 run to take a 21-15 lead on a layup by Quincy Anderson with 2:38 left in the first half.
East cut it to 21-20 on a putback layup by Peyton Simon and a three-pointer by Sam McGath, but North scored the final five points of the half, including a long three-pointer at the buzzer by Haliburton.
Haliburton finished with 24 points, hitting all 12 of his free-throw tries. Anderson added 15, as North’s high-scoring backcourt combined for 39 of its 54 points.
Cartier led East with 15 points. Simon had 10 points and eight rebounds, and Thomas Francken scored eight points.
East was playing in its fourth state tournament and its first since 1979. The Spartans were 4-20 and winless in the Greater Metro Conference just two seasons ago but have gone 35-15 since Joe Rux took over prior to the 2016-17 season.
The future appears bright for the program, as six members of ane eightman rotation return. East will have to replace Cartier, who entered the state tournament averaging 21.5 points per game and hit the game-winning shot in a state-semifinal win over Sun Prairie.