WIAA boys basketball: G-E-T moves on in Division 3 (2024)

ARCADIA — Mason Brone caught the pass in front of his own bench and heard nothing but coaches calling for him to shoot the basketball.

The sophom*ore guard for the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School boys basketball team hadn’t done much of that before catching the ball, which was zipped across the court from teammate Cody Schmitz as the Red Hawks trailed Elk Mound by a point late in Thursday’s WIAA Division 3 sectional semifinal at the Wanek Center.

“There were at least three (coaches) who yelled to me,” Brone said. “So I shot it.”

Brone buried the 3-pointer to turn a one-point deficit into a two-point lead with 1 minute, 27 seconds on the clock, and that field goal put the Red Hawks over the top in what became a 61-55 victory.

Brone added four free throws after his 3-pointer — two with 46.3 seconds remaining and two with 9.2 seconds left — to help G-E-T (20-7) finish off the win and set up a sectional final against Prescott (20-6). That game tips off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Eau Claire North and provides the Red Hawks the chance to qualify for the state tournament for the first time since 2016.

“When I say that’s biggest shot of the year to this point, I mean it,” G-E-T senior Cody said Schmitz, who scored a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. “We trust him with the ball, which says a lot with him being a sophom*ore, and I’m really happy for him.”

The Red Hawks held off a late challenge from the Mounders (22-5), who beat them in overtime during the regular season. G-E-T had led by as many as eight points in the second half, but Elk Mound put together a run that tightened up the game significantly in the closing minutes.

A 3-pointer by Samuel Wenzel over the outstretched arm of Jackson Burns — more on that matchup later — cut G-E-T’s lead to 48-46 with 6:11 remaining, and a Nick Andre 3-pointer had the Mounders within 52-51 with 2:32 to go.

Kaden Russo gave Elk Mound the 53-52 lead with two free throws after he was fouled on a rebound attempt with exactly 2 minutes left. The Red Hawks held the ball until Brone’s shot put them back in front for good.

But none of that happens without the second-half defense provided by Burns and the perimeter shooting of seniors Braden Anibas and Taylor Haney. Anibas and Brone finished with 14 points, and Haney added nine.

Schmitz may have led G-E-T in scoring, but scoring opportunities were hard to find with three and four — five on one drive to the hoop — defenders on him when he reached the lane. He was able to get just four shots off in the second half.

Anibas knocked down all four of his 3-pointers in the second half, and Haney made two of his three before halftime. Haney’s were big in helping the Red Hawks recover from a 13-2 deficit, and the two teamed up to make five 3s in a span of 2:02 early in the second half to turn a 27-24 deficit into a 37-32 lead.

Anibas made three and Haney one during that run, and Schmitz scored with his left hand on a big drive to the hoop for a 39-32 advantage with 11:31 left.

“He had a very tough first half,” G-E-T coach Jared McCutchen said of Anibas, who missed all three of his shots before halftime. “We talked to him at halftime, and I told him he had to keep flicking it. That’s who he is, and that’s why he’s on the floor.”

Anibas excelled from the right corner, and used a fake to let a defender fly right by him and get a more open look at the basket. Haney hit his second-half 3 from the other corner, converting a pass from Kyle Seiling.

The defense by Burns was critical because he had to match up with Wenzel after Schmitz picked up his third foul with 13:54 left. Wenzel was a dangerous post threat who was effective as a scorer and rebounder before Burns took over the assignment.

Wenzel, who had 13 points after a three-point play set up by Schmitz’s third foul, scored just three points the rest of the way.

“We talked to him this week about getting the chance to go against Wenzel,” McCutchen said of Burns. “Wenzel is outstanding in the post and may be the best we’ve seen all year. Jackson did a really good job of getting him off his spot.

“The biggest difference when we put Jackson him was that he was catching the ball 14 feet away form the hoop instead of 4 feet from it. Jackson has that ability with his frame to create havoc in the post, and he did that tonight.”

The 3-pointer was Wenzel’s only shot after Schmitz’s third foul until a runner in the lane with 4.1 seconds left.