St. Thomas More gets revenge in rematch
OAK CREEK - Thursday night’s rematch of an 86-80 sectional final loss in overtime to Milwaukee Academy of Science a season ago was an opportunity St. Thomas More senior Sekou Konneh had been waiting for since the final buzzer sounded just shy of a state appearance last year.
“I’ve been thinking about this every day since that loss, every day,” Konneh said.
The 2022-23 Cavaliers’ season was bookended by losses to MAS. The former of those took place on the same floor at Oak Creek High School where the two teams met again Thursday in a WIAA Division 3 semifinal in Sectional 4. To say there was unfinished business against the Novas, even after a 78-71 regular season win on Jan. 15, would be an understatement.
“You better be ready to go, it’s going to be intense. You better have effort, better have that, ‘We’re in for a dog-fight’ mentality,” STM head coach Tony Mane said of what he was impressing upon his players in the leadup to Thursday.
“MAS is in my opinion the second best team in Division 3 if not better than us some times... They ran away from us the first game last year, so when you’re not ready to play against a team like MAS, it’s going to be a long, long night for you.”
STM started with an 8-0 run in Thursday’s 75-72 victory to send it to a third-straight sectional final appearance. MAS counter-punched and held a 41-34 lead at half, but STM’s effort that had built the initial advantage needed only to catch its breath.
“Everybody poured their heart out. Diving on the floor, getting loose rebounds, getting the 50-50 balls, that’s what we were talking about. We knew we had to do every little thing,” said Konneh, who led Cavaliers scorers with 21 points.
Timely shooting and defense from guards Evan Oleson (15 points) and Kyle Alivo (14 points), supplemented the attack led by stars Konneh and Amari McCottry (14 points). Four converted three-pointers each for Oleson and Alivo, along with harassing defense in the back court, put the Cavaliers in position to win late.
“Those guys are gamers, that’s just what they do, the moment doesn’t become too big for them. They hit big shots when we needed them to,” Mane said.
Some of the biggest shots came down to a transfer to the program this year from Messmer, Konneh’s cousin Omar Fofana. With STM leading 70-67 in the final minute after an athletic reverse layup through contact by Konneh, Fofana drew two fouls with MAS in the bonus to get the chance to put a win on ice at the line. While his cousin stood at the line, Konneh recalled what Fofana had told him upon transferring to the program in a move that cost Fofana minutes and individual opportunities.
“He came here and was like ‘I want to help you win state.’ He told me that and my other teammates that,” Konneh said.
Fofana knocked down all four chances at the line, which when combined with a one-for-two trip from Oleson, kept things just out of reach for the Novas. Two desperation heaves from MAS points leader Jamarion Batemon (26 points) came up short of a tying score. The win for the Cavaliers put them back within a game of a state title appearance, bringing a sense of relief and perhaps revenge that Konneh and company had sought for more than a year.
Area WIAA boys basketball bracket update
*Sectional final host sites are subject to change, check the WIAA brackets for the most up to date locations and times.
Division 1
No. 1 De Pere defeated No. 4 Homestead, 59-58 (2OT). De Pere advanced to the D1 Sectional 2 final against No. 2 Arrowhead on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Oshkosh North.
No. 2 Arrowhead defeated No. 6 Germantown, 79-65. Arrowhead advanced to a D1 Sect. 2 final date with De Pere.
No. 1 Kettle Moraine defeated No. 5 Beloit Memorial, 71-64. Kettle Moraine advanced to D1 Sect. 3 final at 1 p.m. Saturday against host No. 7 Janesville Craig, which defeated No. 3 Sun Prairie West, 74-71.
No. 1 Marquette defeated No. 5 Racine Case, 84-51. Marquette advanced to
D1 Sect. 4 final against No. 6 West Allis Central, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Racine Horlick.
No. 6 West Allis Central defeated No. 2 Milwaukee Hamilton, 78-75 (OT). West Allis Central advanced to the D1 Sect. 4 final against Marquette.
Division 2
No. 1 Nicolet defeated No. 2 Cedarburg, 86-58. Nicolet advanced to the D2 Sect. 2 final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Whitefish Bay High School against No. 1 Ashwaubenon, which defeated No. 2 Plymouth, 72-52.
No. 1 Pewaukee defeated No. 3 Wauwatosa West, 83-69. Pewaukee advanced to the D2 Sect. 3 final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Watertown High School against No. 1 Stoughton, which defeated No. 2 Mount Horeb, 64-62.
No. 1 Wisconsin Lutheran defeated No. 3 Pius Catholic, 93-71. Wisconsin Lutheran advanced to the WIAA Sect. 4 final against No. 1 Racine Park, scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Burlington High School.
No. 1 Racine Park defeated No. 6 Milwaukee Bradley Tech, 73-68. Racine Park advanced to the WIAA Sect. 4 final against Wisconsin Lutheran.
Division 3
No. 4 Carmen Northwest defeated No. 2 Lake Country Lutheran, 74-72. Carmen NW advanced to the D3 Sect. 4 final against No. 1 STM, scheduled for 1 p.m. at Brown Deer High School.
Division 4
No. 3 Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic defeated No. 1 Milwaukee Juneau, 6747. KSJ advanced to the D4 Sect. 4 final against No. 1 Kohler, which defeated No. 6 Roncalli (70-42). The game is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at Oconomowoc High School.
Division 5
No. 1 Salam defeated No. 6 Ozaukee, 79-76. Salam advanced to the D5 Sect. 4 final at 1 p.m. Saturday at Evansville High School against No. 1 Abundant Life Christian, which defeated No. 6 Fall River, 75-53.