Two of Wauwatosa West's senior classmen, Sam Krenzien and Ray Sterling, did all they could to extend the Trojans' dream season, but ran into a short-handed, but talented Milwaukee Washington on Saturday.
The Trojans dropped a 78-67 decision in the regional finals at Washington, despite 40 combined points from Krenzien and Sterling.
Playing without suspended leading scorer Quevyn Winters and fellow junior Dominique Williams, Washington used a balanced attack of four players scoring 15 points or more. Winters and Williams were suspended from play last week after an incident with an official. Coach Jay Kenseth's new game plan served him well against a West team that was playing its best ball in seven years.
Athletes set themselves apart
Sterling established his toughness early for the Trojans, scoring 9 of his 19 points in the first quarter as Tosa West built an early 5-point lead. The Trojans attacked the rim despite Washington's 6-foot-7-inch senior Jon Cathey-Macklin blocking a pair of shots and altering several more. The aggressive play kept the Trojans out front until the middle of the second quarter, but they trailed 38-28 at intermission.
"Ray is an inspiration to our entire team with how hard he works, and tonight was an example of that," Tosa West coach Mike Landisch said. "He came out and did everything he could to help the team win.
"We wanted to keep attacking the basket, get some foul calls and get to the free-throw line."
The squads exchanged the lead seven times in the second quarter before Washington pulled away on a 12-0 run that featured five Purgolder scorers. Senior Terry Taylor asserted himself as Washington's new leading scorer, finishing the game with 17 points, 9 in the second quarter. Taylor has averaged 16.5 points per game in the two tournament games.
Kenseth talked about his team's adjustments.
"When the door of opportunity closes for someone, it opens for someone else, so we went small, trying to reinvent ourselves," he said. "The Tosa West players are great warriors, and the coach is one of the kindest people I've ever met in my life.
"Those kids exemplify what he believes in: tough, tough kids."
Seniors lay solid foundation
An 8-2 run to open the second half for Wauwatosa West closed the gap to four points midway through the third quarter, but that was as close as the Trojans would get.
Krenzien scored 11 points in his final quarter of high school basketball and 21 to lead his team in scoring one final time.
"This senior class is a huge class and we are going to miss them, but they set the foundation," Landisch said. "Our underclassmen are hungry; Tosa West basketball is on the rise, and this senior class is the reason for that."
The Trojans finished the emotional season, inspired by Landisch's battle with cancer, with a 16-6 record. Players and coaches from both sides joined in the center of the court after the game as the gym fell silent for a moment to show support for Landisch.
Milwaukee Washington faces Milwaukee Riverside today at the Al McGuire Center.
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