Cameron was oh-so-close. The Comets were trailing Aquinas 42-30 with just over eight minutes to go in their Division 4 Sectional 1 final but behind trips to the free-throw line while the Blugolds themselves suffered from some charity-stripe woes, they fought back.
Little by little, Cameron ate away at the deficit. The large contingent of Comet fans that made the trip to the Doghouse at Eau Claire North High School grew evermore raucous. It all crescendoed with season-leading scorer Tyson Lucas making a tough layup that made the score 45-42. Cameron made it a one-possession game after looking dead in the water for much of the second half, but that was as close as it got.
The Comets still fouled Aquinas numerous times in the final three minutes. This time the Blugolds made them pay. Aquinas’ duo of Walter Berns and Logan Becker — the Blugolds leading scorers this season — combined to go 6-for-6 at the line on their next three trips and that seemed to steady the ship for Aquinas. The Blugolds went on a 17-4 run to end the game and secured a 62-46 win and their first trip to state since 2016.
After the 1-for-6 stretch at the charity stripe that allowed Cameron to get back into the game, Aquinas’ final 17 points all came from the free-throw line.
“You just gotta come in with confidence,” Becker said. “Just seeing the ball go in, just knowing that the game is on the line, you just gotta take a deep breath and put them in.”
Aquinas (23-5) put itself in position to win long before the final three minutes. The Blugolds and Comets (25-3) went to the lockers tied at 22 in a half Becker said the Blugolds knew they were better than. Coming out of the locker room, they proved it.
In just the first minute and a half, Aquinas ripped off a 7-0 run that forced Cameron into a timeout and set the tone for the final 18 minutes. The Blugolds had been hot and cold offensively in the first half, but found a stride early.
A missed free-throw later on in the half for the Blugolds turned into an offensive rebound that led to Becker burying a 3-pointer from the left wing. That made it 42-30 before Cameron embarked on its comeback bid. It was the largest lead of the game for either side.
“We came out and we just played our game,” Becker said. “We’re great at attacking and kicking. We can find the open guys when they need to be open and we’re just great at scoring. “
As for Cameron, the Comets just simply couldn’t buy many buckets to open the second half. Despite a number of decent looks, Cameron just couldn’t connect on a few key shots. The Comets had just five points in the opening eight minutes of the final half.
“I felt like we got decent shots and they just didn’t go in,” Cameron head coach Tony LaVallie said. “Credit to Aquinas. I mean their defense was spot on and they made life tough for us but [we] just missed a couple shots.”
All the while, Berns and Becker simply took over for the Blugolds. Becker finished with a game-high 26 points while Berns finished with 18. No other player reached double-figures for Aquinas.
For Cameron, they now lose a senior class that features the leading scorer in Comets program history in Tyson Lucas and three others in Kobe Sevals, Kory Murray and Brady Quinn that were on the team the last time the Comets reached the state tournament in 2022. Cameron also rostered a fifth senior in Tyrise Brooks who joined the team this season.
“Just a great group of kids,” LaVallie said of his senior class. “It’s what you always dream of as a coach which makes it hurt a little more that we couldn’t get that extra win to get them to Madison again, but super proud of them and who they are.”
LaVallie says he told his team just how much he appreciated them and their hard work after the game. He highlighted how excited he was to see them grow and where they go in life. The Comets head coach also believes they’ll look back in the future and realize what they accomplished at Cameron.
“We really are a small community,” LaVallie said. “I love them to death and they’re great kids.”
Aquinas, meanwhile, is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2016. The Blugolds will be looking for their first state championship since 2013 and for their fifth overall. Aquinas will play Thursday. The Blugolds seeding, opponent and tip time will be revealed Sunday.
“We’re hungry. We’re not done yet,” Becker said. “We’re gonna celebrate tonight, but we’re gonna come into next week with our heads up and we’re gonna prepare and we’re gonna be ready.”
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