West wins first regional title since 1996

The Wauwatosa West boys basketball team came up big when they had to and beat Milwaukee Lutheran, 61-49, to win their first WIAA Regional Championship since 1996.

The victory ended a busy week that saw the Trojans beat Milwaukee Madison, 70-54, on Tuesday and beat Milwaukee Samuel Morse-Marshall, 58-45, on Friday.

The Trojans improved their record to 15-10 and will now meet Whitefish Bay (16-8) of the North Shore Conference at WIAA Sectional at the Al McGuire Center at 6 p.m. Bay beat Nicolet, 44-41, to get there.

Against Milwaukee Lutheran (9-14) Friday night, the Trojans held off a scrappy Red Knights team, who battled back from deficits of 10 once and eight twice, only to see the Trojans turn up the jets and pull away each time.

Jarvis Ashley scored 14 points, hitting 5-of-6 free-throws, and Tyler Krause scored 13, hitting 5-of-8 from the charity stripe. He helped hold off the Red Knights with 10 fourth-quarter points.

Kieviante Love, a 5-foot-9 inch point guard, added 12 points, hitting key jumpers scattered throughout the game. But Love is known more for his defense.

Zach Soderburg, a 6-6 forward, scored eight points, grabbed key rebounds and played solid defense.