Winning the first outright district title in school history, the Onalaska Wildcats celebrated a 77-58 championship in Huntsville Friday.
Onalaska fell behind 10-2 early, but free throws kept them from lagging too far behind. Later in the quarter, their first lead would occur at 16-14. Getting 3-poiners from Patrick Roth and Devon Vienneau allowed them to go into the second period with a three-point advantage.
Shots continued to fall for the Wildcats in the second quarter. Crockett struggled to keep that pace, mainly because of inaccuracy at the free-throw line. The Bulldogs were 1-of-9 from the charity stripe in the second. By halftime, Onalaska had scored 45 points and held a 13-point difference.
The 'Cats took advantage of second and third chances on offensive possessions throughout the second half. Both long rebounds and hustling for loose balls would benefit the school by the lake.
“The biggest thing was taking care of the ball and making sure that we rebounded,” Onalaska coach Nicholas Tyerman said. “That has been our calling card for most of our wins this year – offensive rebounds. When they would get defensive rebounds, they would run out, so we needed to make sure we could pressure and trap the ball at all times so we could slow them down and they couldn't throw in transition points.”
Leading the offensive putbacks was Brayden Topkins, who was the team's top scorer with 19. Vienneau had 17 points and Roth 15.
“I think we played a complete game,” Tyerman said. “The biggest thing I knew we could do is even though we could play up-tempo, we could have a look where we set up in the half court and that is what we did a great job of. This Is what It takes in the playoffs to make a deep run. Yes, we want to pressure and play up-tempo and fast, but in the playoffs, you're going to have some times where you're not able to do that and you need to execute in the half court. We did a great job of that tonight.”
Huntsville High School was also the host back in 2006, when Onalaska played in a tiebreaker for the district title that season. That one resulted in a loss to New Waverly. The Wildcats have tied for a district title, but Friday was the first with sole ownership.
They have also never won a playoff game, presenting the opportunity for many firsts this year. The best basketball team in school history will have a chance to break another barrier Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Houston at the Mark Anthony Wilkins Pavilion versus Boling.
“It is the biggest crowd we have ever had,” Tyerman said of Friday. “The support has been tremendous the last couple of years. This eight years has been a long time to build and longer than most coaches want to do or get the opportunity to do. The support and how much these people love these kids – because they play with passion and they play the right way and they play respectful and composed – it makes the love and passion that we have here. That is why I love Onalaska so much."
