Slow start costly for Trojan boys in state loss
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
A furious rally Friday morning put the East Troy boys basketball team in position to advance to the WIAA Division 3 state title contest.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, a talented Lodi team had something to say about that.
East Troy trailed by as many as 15 points, before it battled back to even in the game’s final seconds, but couldn’t get over the hump in a 54-46 loss before a large crowd at the Kohl Center, Madison.
The loss ended the Trojans’ season at 23-4 overall. Lodi fell 53-48 to La Crosse Aquinas in Saturday’s state championship matchup to finish the year at 24-4. Lodi defeated East Troy 52-50 in the sectional final last year.
“When we start every year, especially with the expectations the last few years, it’s always going to be about getting to the state tournament and winning the gold ball,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said.
“With that being said, we were extremely happy to be there. We kind of got rid of some bad history in tournament play. That’s behind us, and now we can move forward from there.”
With just a handful of seconds left on the clock, it looked like the Trojans may pull off the comeback.
A breakaway dunk by Will Illoncaie tied the game at 46-46 with 35 seconds remaining. Two free throws by Lodi’s Jordan Shea returned the lead to the Blue Devils at 48-46 – followed by a tough traveling call that went against the Trojans.
East Troy’s Brett Prahl appeared to get bumped, but he was called for the violation that gave possession back to Lodi.
While Rayfield obviously didn’t like the call, he didn’t blame the official for making it.
“If you’re going to make that call, you better make sure it is what it is,” he said. “That being said, (other factors in the loss) were we needed to get off to a better start. We were three for 14 from the 3-point line. … Maybe we wouldn’t be in that position.”
Lodi clinched the game with six straight free throws, two more by Shea and four straight by Kris Seffrood.
Lodi hot early
The first quarter was all Lodi, as the Blue Devils made 11 of 12 shots and jumped out to an 18-6 lead. East Troy led just twice in the game, the last time at 4-2 on two free throws by Nate Dodge.
Rayfield wasn’t surprised to see Lodi come out fast right from the start.
“I knew they were really good,” he said. “I had seen them four or five times and knew exactly what they were doing.”
East Troy climbed back to within seven points at halftime on a steal by Connor Mitchell and an assist to by Dodge to Brett Prahl for a layup with 46 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Trojans continued their rally in the third quarter, as they cut the deficit to just three points at 38-35 heading into the last eight minutes. A 3-pointer by Dodge and a jumper by Alex Prahl closed out the period.
Rayfield was pleased to see his team fight all the way to the end.
“I think that was because of the quality of the teams we played (during the season),” he said. “We were battle tested. I think that helped us to just hang in there.
“That takes a lot of character, and you have to be good to do that, also. In a game like that, against a team like that, you just want to give yourself an opportunity at the end of the game. From where we were at (after the slow start), that’s about all we could ask for.”
Dodge led the Trojans with 16 points and six rebounds, followed by Brett Prahl with 11 points and Alex Prahl with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Illoncaie chipped in with six points and five assists.
Shea led Lodi with 21 points and three assists, followed by Brady Moses with 14 points and Jacob Haag with 11.
The loss ended the stellar playing careers of Brett and Alex Prahl – who will play at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in the fall – and Dodge – who is headed to the Army.
All three certainly have left their mark on the East Troy program, Rayfield said. Dodge was part of just one Rock Valley Conference defeat in his four years, while the Prahls were promoted to the varsity squad after that loss, so they leave without an RVC blemish on their record.
“They are (true) student-athletes,” Rayfield said. “They all have high academics. They’re all going to play college basketball. They’re better kids than they are players.
“They give a lot back to our younger kids. As we move forward, that was something else those guys brought to, what they brought to the East Troy community and our younger players.”
Results of All-RVC voting and a statistical wrap up of the season will run in a future edition.
