It was a banner year for the Waterloo boys basketball team in 2023-24. The Pirates, a program long plagued with the inability to escape the doldrums of losing, turned a corner in their second season under the direction of head coach Jared Brown. They eclipsed milestones with eight regular season victories, four of which came in Capitol — South conference play. Both of these were program highs for the last decade.
This success carried into the postseason as Waterloo won its first postseason game since 2021. The No. 7 seed Pirates knocked off No. 10 seed Westfield 64-48 in their Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) regional opener. This bought them a shot at the No. 2 seed, Randolph, at their place on Friday, March 1. Waterloo’s successful campaign came to an end as the host Rockets sent them packing with a 67-52 loss.
The higher-seeded Rockets looked the part from the opening tip. Waterloo couldn’t buy a bucket as Randolph launched off with a 7-0 run to start the game. Things could have gotten bleak had Waterloo junior Bryce Aubart and sophomore Ryder Jaehnke not come to life.
Aubart woke his team up with back-to-back three pointers. Jaehnke checked into the game shortly after and splashed another three to go along with a layup on a fast break. As an added bonus, junior Jackson Beyer finished off an and-one score. In a flash, Waterloo led 14-11 and forced a Randolph timeout.
The Rockets made some impressive adjustments to gum up the Pirates’ run. Randolph proceeded to go on a 14-0 run to retake a 25-14 lead it would never relinquish. Waterloo’s 2-3 zone struggled to contain two Rockets in particular, senior Karter Meredith and junior Nick Medema. Meredith diced the defense up with his driving ability and, when an extra defender came to help, he’d simply dump it off to Medema for an easy bucket.
Waterloo senior Benny Marshall got cooking towards the end of the first half to help stop the bleeding. He knocked down a three pointer and buried a pair of layups, but it was not nearly enough. Randolph took a 38-26 lead into the halftime break.
Another Waterloo senior, Theo Schofield, continued the comeback push in the second half. After going scoreless in the first half, he bullied his way to the rim for a layup and knocked down a pair of free throws for a quick four points. This got the game back to a manageable 40-30 margin.
Again, Randolph called a timeout to implement a new gameplan. Again, it worked immediately. The Rockets came out of the break and scored nine straight points, seven from Meredith and two from Medema as their zone-breaking offense worked to perfection once again.
Marshall and Schofield did all they could to help the Pirates keep pace. Of Waterloo’s final 22 points scored, 12 came from Marshall and five came from Schofield. This late effort just wasn’t enough as Randolph continued to score as an answer. The Rockets were able to dribble out much of the final four minutes of the game in a 67-52 victory.
Meredith and Medema tied for the game-high in scoring with 24 each. They were the only two Rockets to score in double digits. Marshall led the charge for Waterloo with 21 points. Additionally, Schofield scored nine, Jaehnke and Beyer both added seven, and Aubart finished with six.
With the loss, Waterloo finishes the season with a 9-17 overall record. It also brings an end to the senior class of 2024’s high school playing career. In addition to losing Marshall and Schofield, the Pirates will also graduate Jon Sampo, Caiden Decker-Gonzales, Cameron Tschanz, and Jose Limon.
This senior class will leave big shoes to fill, but a handful of Pirates got valuable varsity experience this season. Junior starters Bryce Aubart and Jackson Beyer will be leaders of the pack next season, as will Jaehnke, a sophomore who typically came off the bench.
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