Boys head to state basketball tournament
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
There is no shortage of firepower headed to this weekend’s Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 State Boys Basketball Tournament in Madison.
The top-three teams, according to the season’s final poll, including last year’s champion, Brown Deer, highlight the field.
For the East Troy boys squad, that can only mean one thing.
They intend to crash the party.
East Troy earned its second state trip in the past three seasons and third in school history with a hard-fought 42-34 win over River Valley in Saturday’s sectional final at Middleton.
The Trojans (18-7 overall) face third-ranked Xavier (23-3) in the second semifinal Friday morning at the Kohl Center. Top-ranked Prescott (25-1) faces second-ranked Brown Deer (23-4) in the first game at 9:05 a.m.
East Troy and Xavier will battle about 25 minutes after the first game concludes.
The winners Friday will meet in the title contest Saturday in the third game of the session that begins with Division 5 at 11:05 a.m.
Another chance to again play on the big stage has the Trojans, their coach and the community feeling good this week, East Troy’s Darryl Rayfield said.
“Basketball always rewards toughness,” he said. “It is giving back in bunches to these players who are fighters.
“We play a high-level schedule. These other teams are all very good, but nothing our program hasn’t seen or to be in fear of.”
Xavier earned its second trip to state and first since 2009 with a 66-58 win over Valders in the Menasha Sectional final.
“Xavier is and has always had great basketball teams and athletic kids,” Rayfield said. “They are really good … they are extremely tough minded and physical.
“They post you up in bunches and drive it hard. This will just be a great game to play in and how it should be (at state).”
Xavier, the winner of the Eastern Valley Conference, is led by the three-headed scoring monster of junior Sam Burkart (5-foot-11), senior Matt Kinderman (6-0) and junior Zach Simons (6-1).
Burkart enters the weekend at 15.2 points per game, followed by Kinderman at 12.5 and Simons at 10.9. Senior Tom Johnson (6-3) is next at 8.3.
The Hawks are rolling into state, as their last defeat came to West Salem, 83-80 – since then, they have reeled of 17 straight victories.
East Troy, which was second in the Rock Valley Conference behind McFarland, enters play this weekend with three double-digit scorers of its own.
Senor Connor Mitchell (6-0) leads the way at 14.3 points per game, followed by senior Will Iloncaie (6-0) at (11.8) and junior Joe Ciriacks (6-3) at 11.3. Senior Matt Kaminski (5-11) is next at 8.9, followed by junior Jake Remsza (6-4) at 7.6.
Mitchell and Iloncaie started for the Trojans the last time they traveled to Madison for the state tournament. Kaminski contributed to that team off the East Troy bench.
Rayfield, who spoke to statewide media Sunday night in a conference call, said the experience of both Mitchell and Iloncaie, along with several other players on the roster, should pay dividends this weekend.
There shouldn’t be any situation that’s too big or too intimidating for this group, he said.
“These guys have all been around,” Rayfield said. “These guys have been a big part of East Troy basketball and their runs. I feel like our strength of schedule has gotten us ready.
“We’re looking forward to it. It’s always a thrill to be a part of the state basketball tournament.”
It was that heavily loaded non-conference schedule that may have cost the Trojans some wins early in the season, Rayfield said, but that was all part of the plan.
“When we schedule tough games, you can’t hide from those real solid teams,” he said. “I thought our chemistry of playing together, learning how to defend as a group and sharing the basketball (was important).
“We’ve been playing pretty well (lately). I think, as a group, they’ve started trusting each other a little bit more. I thought that was a big key.”
Rematch in finals possible
Should East Troy get by Xavier and Brown Deer can advance past Prescott, the two would meet in a rematch from last year’s sectional semifinal, a game Brown Deer won 58-55 en route to the state title the following week.
He’s certainly only focused on Xavier at the moment, but the chance to get another shot at Brown Deer is one Rayfield and the Trojans would like to take.
“We’d be really, really excited about that,” he said. “(Brown Deer coach) Kelly (Appleby) has a great program. They’re good every year.”
