All the numbers showed a good game was on the horizon when Lake Mills and Marquette Catholic stepped on the floor Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines for a Class 1A semifinal. The online computer rankings had the two teams ranked third (Marquette) and fourth (Lake Mills), while that same computer model picked The Defenders to win the game by half a point. The IHSAA rankings committed had the two teams ranked third and fourth and seeded second and third. And a close, down-to-the-wire game is precisely what the fans got with Bellevue Marquette edging Lake Mills, 59-57.
The Defenders won the opening tip and immediately got one of their struggling shooters going; Kannon Still knocked down the opening look after going 0-4 in the quarterfinal round. Still, the team’s best behind the arch-shooter had over 50 made three-point baskets coming into the state tournament.
That set the tone.
Anyone who’s been around basketball long enough knows two things: a shooter needs to keep shooting, and trouble is brewing when a shooter hits the first three of the night. In fact, that carried over to another guy that struggled in the opening round. After Logan Bacon made both free throws on the other end of the court and got a steal before Lance Helming missed his first shot, Spencer Roeder canned his first three-point basket. Roeder, the team’s leading scorer, was just 1-10 from the floor against Gladbrook-Reinbeck in the quarterfinals.
In total, The Defenders shot a staggering 55.6 percent from behind the arch (5-9) in the opening half, including three in the first quarter that Lake Mills overcame.
After the first eight minutes, the Bulldogs led by four points, 16-12, due partly to six points in the paint and three points off Marquette turnovers.
The Defenders outscored Lake Mills 23-20 in the second quarter, and the teams went into the halftime break almost even, with Lake Mills holding a slim 36-35 lead.
Halftime Stats
Lake Mills
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-22 54.5% 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3% Marquette Catholic
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0%
Marquette took its first lead since early in the opening quarter when Roeder made a three-point basket with 5:42 left in the third quarter. This was part of a third-quarter run by The Defenders that put them up by eight points less than a minute into the fourth quarter, 55-47.
Lake Mills could’ve folded, especially when senior Lance Helming fouled out of the game with 5:24 reaming and the Bulldogs down six, 55-49. The Defenders extended that lead back to eight on the next trip down the floor, 57-49.
That’s when the Bulldogs took the green flag.
Jackson Gaul made a layup to cut the lead to six. The Bulldogs got a foul called on Still, the team’s fifth, and after the media timeout, Gaul made a free throw to cut the lead to five. The teams traded turnovers and rebounds, and with three minutes to go in the game, Aiden Stensrud made a layup to cut the lead to three points. Lake Mills got a defensive stop, and Isacc Brinker committed a foul, sending Eli Menke to the line where, of course, he made them both, and now, all of a sudden, in a matter of two game minutes, The Defender’s lead was from eight to just one point, and Lake Mills calls timeout.
Over one minute of the clock leaked off while Marquette committed three fouls, though Lake Mills was only able to convert one free throw to tie the game at 57. The comeback was completed with one of the team’s best players out of the game.
Bellevue Marquette executed off a couple of Lake Mills mistakes in the final 1:20 of the game. Lake Mills forced The Defenders into a tough shot, and Kannon Still ran the ‘play’ to perfection. A jumper with six seconds on the clock, a play-call The Defenders told the media after the game, “we’ve been saving all year for a time like this,” giving them a 59-57 lead with just three seconds left.
Lake Mills was able to call timeout and had a chance, but Jackson Gaul’s halfcourt heave was no-good, and the Bulldogs’ season came to a close in the state semifinals with a 25-2 overall record.
With it, the end of a senior class, one of the most decorated in recent history. A class that brought so much pride and joy to the Lake Mills community. A senior class that, from an outsider looking in, you can tell that wearing Lake Mills across their chest meant so much to them.
Listen to KIOW on Saturday morning to hear Coach Menke’s final Coaches’ Corner Program.
Final Stats
Lake Mills
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 02 Bacon, Logan........ * 1-4 0-1 2-2 0 3 3 0 4 1 1 0 1 32 03 Menke, Eli.......... * 1-5 1-2 9-10 0 3 3 2 12 0 2 1 0 31 04 Helming, Lance...... * 7-11 0-1 2-4 0 4 4 5 16 0 3 1 0 19 23 Stensrud, Aiden..... * 7-10 0-0 0-0 2 9 11 2 14 0 3 2 0 28 25 Gaul, Jackson....... * 4-9 1-2 2-7 2 2 4 1 11 1 1 0 0 32 01 Mannes, Alex........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 10 Delger, Nash........ 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 0 2 15 32 Gaetzke, Chace...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 TEAM................ 2 3 5 Totals.............. 20-40 2-7 15-23 7 25 32 14 57 3 10 4 3 160 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-22 54.5% 2nd Half: 8-18 44.4% Game: 50.0% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-5 40.0% 2nd Half: 0-2 0.0% Game: 28.6% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3% 2nd Half: 5-11 45.5% Game: 65.2% 6,1
Marquette Catholic
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 02 Still, Kannon....... * 5-9 3-4 0-0 1 0 1 3 13 0 1 0 0 28 03 Roeder, Spencer..... * 7-13 4-7 0-0 2 10 12 4 18 1 1 1 1 32 04 Kettmann, Caden..... * 3-9 0-1 3-5 2 2 4 1 9 3 2 0 1 29 10 Scott, Eli.......... * 3-11 0-0 3-4 1 2 3 3 9 4 3 0 2 32 30 Brinker, Isaac...... * 0-3 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 21 05 Clausen, Aidan...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0+ 12 Litterer, Jacob..... 4-9 1-3 1-2 0 1 1 4 10 0 0 0 0 18 TEAM................ 2 2 Totals.............. 22-54 8-15 7-11 9 15 24 18 59 9 7 1 4 160 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-29 41.4% 2nd Half: 10-25 40.0% Game: 40.7% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 5-9 55.6% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 53.3% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 6-8 75.0% 2nd Half: 1-3 33.3% Game: 63.6% 1
