The Reedsville Panthers boys’ basketball team will play the Southwestern Wildcats in the WIAA Division Five State Championship game this morning at the Kohl Center in Madison.
The Panthers improved to 27 and 3 with a thrilling 75 to 72 victory over Sheboygan Lutheran in the semifinals on Friday morning.
The game featured 7 ties and 15 lead changes with Reedsville taking the lead for good 71 to 70 on a Ben Prochnow layup and sealed the win with free throws down the stretch to advance to their second state title game and their first in 80 years (1946 when they won the title).
The Panthers outscored the Crusaders 26 to 2 in transition, with Ben Prochnow leading four Panthers in double figures with 26 points.
Zach Prochnow and Jack Schwann added 15 points each, with Arden Strenn adding 10 points.
Southwestern, out of the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League, comes into today’s title tilt with a record of 24 and 6 as the Wildcats almost lost an 18-point lead in the second half before holding off Prentice 69 to 65 in the other D-5 semifinal.
Aiden Keleher led the Wildcats with a team-high 22 points, including hitting some clutch free throws to keep the Buccaneers at bay. Cayden DeMuth chipped in 16 with Carson Splinter adding 11.
This is the first of five state championship games to be played today at the Kohl Center with coverage on 980 WCUB and cubradio.com beginning at 10:45 a.m.
