LAKE MILLS, Wis.—Lakeside Lutheran sophomore Wes Rahn took to the sky and, using all 6-foot-7 of himself, delivered a booming block of Beloit Turner senior Tyshawn Teague-Johnson’s shot at the rim.
That opening possession set the tone for what proved to be a physically dominating night for the Warriors, who defeated the Trojans 65-47 in a WIAA Division 3 regional final on Saturday.
“Lakeside was the best defensive team we’ve played all season,” head coach Ken Watkins said. “Their pressure really bothered us. That's a really good team that doesn't beat themselves. We knew that going in and knew that we were going to have to play really well. We just ran into a team that was really tough.”
Top-seeded Lakeside (24-2), which was a state semifinalist last season, touts three starters that are 6-foot-3 or taller while 6-foot-1 Easton Wolfram is a stellar perimeter shooter and the fifth, 5-foot-10 junior Kaycee Guzman, is still second on the team with 14.3 points per game.
The Warriors used their length to block shots, force turnovers and limit Turner’s flow on the offensive end.
The fifth-seeded Trojans had just four field goals in the first half and after AJ Dotson’s three cut Lakeside’s early lead to 8-7, Turner didn’t score again until nearly four minutes later when Dotson hit a second trey.
“Lakeside pressured well and were in gaps to help,” Watkins said. “Anytime Zay (Howard) tried to penetrate, he was meeting two to three guys. They did a really nice job helping on Tyshawn (Teagaue-Johnson) in the post. It was rare that we got any free looks and they forced us to rush some offensive possessions.”
While the Trojans handled the tall Warriors reasonably well on the defensive side, their inability to put together scoring possessions allowed Lakeside to build up a 17-7 lead in the first half dry spell.
Dotson’s 3-pointer cut the deficit back to single digits but a trey by Wolfram along with buckets from Kooper Mlsna, Rahn and Guzman gave the Warriors a 26-14 lead at halftime.
“We never really recovered from getting gut punched in the first half,” Watkins said. “(Lakeside) was really very disciplined and their guards did a really nice job taking care of the ball.”
The Warriors scored six-straight points out of halftime before Elijah Terrell and Howard answered with a pair of three-point plays. Teague-Johnson’s layup put it at 32-22 but a basket from Rahn, who scored a game-high 22 points, started a 15-3 run for Lakeside. Rahn scored seven of those points.
“Rahn was really good for them,” Watkins said. “It was a monumental task to come back after that. Any kind of little run we made, they had answers for.”
Turner outscored the Warriors 16-10 to cut it to 54-39 but Mlsna sank a 3-pointer that shifted momentum back to Lakeside.
By the time Rahn threw down an electric dunk the lead was up to 61-41 and Watkins allowed his starters to exit for the last time with a standing ovation from a nice visiting Trojans’ crowd.
Guzman scored 10 points and Wolfram finished with eight for the Warriors while Teague-Johnson scored 14 for the Trojans, Howard added 11 and Dotson finished with nine on three treys.
“I feel bad for the kids because they’re so disappointed,” Watkins said. “I get to have other seasons, but for our seniors this is it. From the beginning of the season until now this group made as much improvement as any team we've ever had.”
The Trojans went 20-7 overall and finished 13-2 in conference play to finish as Rock Valley Rock Division co-champions after starting the season 1-3.
“We lost an awful lot off of last year's team that was heavy with seniors,” Watkins said. “Our guys could have very easily embraced it being a rebuilding year, but that wasn't the case at all. It was a season that was filled with a lot of really fun games, big wins and some major team and individual achievements. I couldn’t be prouder of this group.”
• BOXSCORE:
LAKESIDE LUTHERAN 65, BELOIT TURNER 47
Turner;14;33;--;47
Lakeside;26;39;--;65
Turner (fg ftm-fta pts) -- Howard 4 2-3 11, Terrell 2 0-0 5, Teague-Johnson 4 6-7 14, Dotson 3 0-0 9, Buckley 1 0-0 3, Noack 1 0-0 3, Njoo 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 8-10 47.
Lakeside Lutheran (fg ftm-fta pts) -- B. Krauklis 1 0-0 3, Neumann 2 2-2 7, Guzman 5 0-0 10, L. Krauklis 1 0-0 2, E. Wolfram 2 0-0 6, Mlsna 3 0-0 7, Reinke 2 0-0 4, Rahn 9 3-4 22, B. Wolfram 1 0-0 2, Stein 1 0-0 2. Totals: 27 5-6 65.
3-point goals: BT 7 (Dotson 3, Howard 1, Terrell 1, Noack 1, Buckley 1), LL 6 (E. Wolfram 2, Mlsna 1, Neumann 1, B. Krauklis 1, Rahn 1). Fouled out: none. Total fouls: BT 9, LL 10.
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