Boys hoops: McDonell cruises past N.E.W. Lutheran to reach D5 state championship game

Mar. 4—LA CROSSE — McDonell couldn't have drawn things up much better.

Holding onto a five-point lead at the break, the Macks came out of halftime on a simple mission.

They weren't going home just yet.

McDonell made sure of that when it got back on the court. The Macks opened the second half with a 13-1 run and never looked back in a dominant 67-40 victory over Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran in Thursday's Division 5 state semifinals at the La Crosse Center.

"We regrouped really well at halftime," McDonell coach Adam Schilling said. "We got back to talking about being aggressive with the ball instead of being kind of tentative against their pressure. ... Everything really just came together there for us at the beginning of the second half."

Jake Siegenthaler hit a 3-pointer 28 seconds into the second half and added two more in the next four minutes, jump-starting an impressive showing the rest of the way.

When he and the Macks were done, they'd run away with a romp in the state semifinals.

"We came out with a game plan," Siegenthaler said. "We always do a good job making extra passes, and we were looking to push the ball and that opened up other opportunities too."

The second-seeded Macks (17-4) will take on top-seeded Hustisford (17-3) for the state championship at 7:05 p.m. on Thursday. It's McDonell's first trip to the state title game since 2018, when the Macks brought home the silver ball.

The program's only WIAA state championship came in 2016.

To get there, the Macks rode 25 points from Siegenthaler and a suffocating press defense to coast past the Blazers.

McDonell forced 17 turnovers in the semifinal victory, with many coming as a result of the Macks' 2-1-2 press.

"It was tough. They were really physical up front and we didn't really get past that," Blazers forward Marshal Bukowski said. "We haven't really been used to teams being more physical than us, especially in the playoffs. This (McDonell) team was definitely very physical and we weren't as physical back. That definitely hurt us."

McDonell held N.E.W. Lutheran to 31% shooting from the floor, and didn't allow any 3-pointers. Meanwhile, the Macks scored 26 points off turnovers and shot 60% from 3-point range.

"It's obviously something that they did, but we just didn't attack. We waited for them to set their defense up," Blazer coach Mark Meerstein said. "They flew. As soon as one guy came over and left a guy, there was another guy coming over."

Logan Hughes and Joe Janus scored 10 points apiece for McDonell. Hughes hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first half which gave the Macks a bit of breathing room. He turned their two-point advantage into a five-point lead heading into the break.

"It was a huge shot," Schilling said. "We were just at a point in the game where we needed something to go our way, and instead of a two-point game at halftime it was five points to kind of give us a little more cushion. Huge shot for us. Logan's hit those for us this year, and that's one we needed going into halftime."

The Blazers came into the matchup with more size than the Macks, but McDonell neutralized that threat.

McDonell was able to slash into the lane and finish at the hoop with ease. Of the Macks' 67 points, 44 came in the paint.

Tanner Opsal had six points and 10 rebounds for McDonell, and Eddie Mittermeyer added seven points.

The Macks will meet a highly-touted Falcons team in the state championship. Hustisford is the top-ranked team in the state and is coming off a 65-53 win over Wauzeka-Steuben in the other semifinal. The Falcons had four players score in double figures on Thursday morning.

In the five or so hours between the end of its semifinal and the championship game, McDonell planned to rest up as much as possible.

"We know they're very good," Schilling said. "Obviously they have some very talented players and are well-coached, good team, a lot of size. Our game is probably a little bit different than theirs. It's going to be kind of a battle to see, first off, if we can rebound with them and if we're able to score over them. We'll have to play our best game to be in that game."

The Macks are guaranteed to bring home a trophy. They're hoping it will be of the gold variety.

"Obviously that game gave us a lot of confidence," Siegenthaler said. "Our offense was really good, as well as our defense. I think that the team's ready to play our next game."

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McDonell 67, Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 40

McDonell (17-4): Tanner Opsal 6, Eddie Mittermeyer 7, Logan Hughes 10, Jake Siegenthaler 25, Dan Anderson 6, Max Hauser 1, Joe Janus 10, Luke Newton 2.

N.E.W. Lutheran (16-11): Tristian Lynch 10, Marshal Bukowski 16, Lucas Dhein 1, Elijah Lange 10, Elijah Meerstein 3.

3-point goals: McDonell 6 (Siegenthaler 4, Hughes 2), N.E.W. Lutheran 0.

Halftime: McDonell 26-21.