The Waterloo boys basketball team saved its best for the end of the 2023-24 regular season. The Pirates were in danger of ending their season on a rough skid, having lost four straight games heading into the second week of February. Then something clicked.
The Pirates kicked off their turnaround with a 69-60 win over Cambridge on Monday, Feb. 12. After suffering an 80-63 setback at Marshall, Waterloo got back to the grind. They scored a win at Wisconsin Heights on Friday, Feb. 16, 63-51, to set up a regular season-ending home showdown with New Glarus on Thursday, Feb. 22.
The Glarner Knights had every reason to enter that game with confidence. They led the Capitol — South conference with an 8-1 record and had already beaten the Pirated by 10 points in their previous meeting in late January. None of that seemed to matter to the Pirates. They muscled out an impressive 71-68 victory.
As has been the case all season, senior Benny Marshall was a reliable source for buckets. He poured in a game-high 30 points. He benefitted from having big senior Theo Schofield back in the lineup, as well. Schofield serves a magnet for double teams as an athletic 6-foot-5 threat. He also got his, scoring 21 points. Junior Jackson Beyer also poured in 11.
Waterloo’s upset win came despite a three point barrage from visiting New Glarus. The Glarner Knights hit more triples (12) than they did two point field goals (11). The effort came up just short as Waterloo handed New Glarus just its second conference loss of the season, leaving the Glarner Knights in a tie with Belleville for the Capitol — South crown at 8-2.
As for Waterloo, the Pirates finished the regular season with an 8-16 record, including a 4-6 mark in the Capitol — South for fifth place in the final standings. This was the most conference wins Waterloo had accomplished since 2014-15 and the most total wins in a season since 2010-11.
This impressive end to the regular season earned the Pirates the No. 7 seed in Sectional 3 of Division 4 for the upcoming Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) state tournament. This means they’ll have one more home game as they welcome in No. 10 seed Westfield on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The winner of that contest advances to face No. 2 seed Randolph, which received a bye.
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Final Capitol — South conference boys basketball standings
(overall records in parenthesis)
-as of Saturday, Feb. 24
T1. New Glarus, 8-2 (16-8)
T1. Belleville, 8-2 (12-12)
T3. Cambridge, 5-5 (10-14)
T3. Marshall, 5-5 (13-11)
5. Waterloo, 4-6 (8-16)
6. Wisconsin Heights, 0-10 (8-16)
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