The Division 2 semifinals Friday afternoon produced a pair of exciting, down to the wire finishes as Pewaukee will look to complete a championship 3-peat after outlasting Nicolet 58-56 in the first game and the the Pirates will face Whitnall, a 53-52 winner over LaCrosse Central.
The Pirates returned to the title game thanks to a monster effort from Milan Momcilovic, the Iowa State recruit who poured in 32 points, 23 coming in the second half. He scored Pewaukee’s final 7 points of the game including a go ahead three from the of the key that tied the game at 51 with 2:20 left. Nicolet went back up on David Bolden’s 3 before Momcilovic added a pair of free throws and a put back hoop to give Pewaukee a 58-54 lead. Davion Hannah pulled Nicolet within 2 with :13 left. Pewaukee broke a full court press but missed what would have been a game sealing layup however the Knights missed on their final shot and it was Momcilovic who pulled down the rebound to secure the victory. Nick Janowski added 15 for the Pirates. Hannah was the only player in double figures for Nicolet with 23. The Knights finished 20-5 while Pewaukee improved to 22-3.
Game two was just as thrilling as the two teams traded dramatic three point shots in the closing minutes. Bennett Fried of Central hit a put back shot with :17 left that tied the game at 52. In a frantic final possession, Whitnall’s Austin Herro threw up a three point shot from the corner as the buzzer sounded. It missed but a foul was called and with no time on the clock, calmly knocked down the free throw for the victory. Myles Herro, the younger brother of Austin (both younger brothers of Miami Heat star Tyler Herro), led the Falcons with 21 points, hitting 6 of 7 three point shots. Fried finished with a team high 17 for LaCrosse Central. The Riverhawks wound up 19-6 on the season while Whitnall improved to 21-3. Now they’ll try to deny Pewaukee from a third straight championship when the D2 Final tips at 6:35 PM Saturday night.
Comments