Waushburn ends Falcons’season with first round defeat
By Nathaniel Underwood
The Abbotsford boys basketball team saw their season come to a close in Washburn Tuesday night when the 12th-seeded Falcons took on the fifth-seeded Castle Guards in the first round of theWIAA Division 4 playoffs.
Washburn, 72-34
A lengthy trip north did not end how Abbotsford would have wanted it to, as their hosts did plenty to limit what the Falcons wished to accomplish on both sides of the floor before eliminating them 72-34.
Washburn came into the contest on a six-game winning streak, having just dispatched Hurley 61-25 the week prior. Abbotsford, meanwhile, had scored 50 or more points in eight of their last nine games, showing an improvement on offense.
Though the Falcons were able to keep Washburn relatively in check in the first half, they were never really able to capture that same consistency on offense that they had seemed to find in the later half of the season.
“Last night, we started out very well defensively,” head coach Garrett Rau said after the game. “They played a matchup zone and bothered us with their length and athleticism. We struggled to score.”
Four three-point shots made up the majority of Abbotsford’s offense in the first half, with two coming from Preston Bunkelman and one each courtesy of Grayson Totzke and Koren Decker, but Washburn largely kept the Falcons from being able to operate inside for much of the evening.
The Castle Guards’ Alec Croteau carried the load for his team offensively in the opening 18 minutes, picking up nearly half of Washburn’s points. Though Croteau was able to make a few things happen, Abbotsford limited their opponents’other options, and despite not having much offense themselves, the Falcons found themselves still within striking distance at the half, down 28-18.
The situation changed in the second period, however. While Abbotsford’s shooting woes continued, the rest of the Washburn lineup came alive. Four players scored six or more points in the half for the Castle Guards while nine total put up at least one point.
“After halftime we came out and pressed them trying to generate some easy looks with turnovers,” Rau said. “They did a great job of handling that pressure and got some easy looks to extend their lead.”
Bunkelman finished the game with a team-high nine points, JV Castillo added five in the second period and AJ Brodhagen had four points. Totzke, Decker, Evan Reis, and Noah Schraufnagel all contributed three points each and Irvin Aguilera and Jack Sheahan rounded out the scoring for the Falcons with two points apiece.
Chequamegon, 67-54
In their final regular season game of the season, the Falcons faced off against Marawood-North foe Chequamegon on the road last Thursday. Abbotsford was able to match the Screaming Eagles over the first 16 minutes of the contest, but their hosts were able to get the better of them in the second- period, holding the Falcons to 20 points and handing them a 67-54 loss in the conference finale.
WhileAbbotsford was able to make 11 three-point shots on Thursday night, it took them 40 shot attempts to do so, leading to less efficient overall offense than that of the Chequamegon, which found more success inside the three-point arch. The Screaming Eagles put up 38 points in the paint and outrebounded the visiting Falcons 42-34, a demonstration of
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their control near the basket.
Chequamegon opened the game by taking a 10-2 lead, but the Falcons never allowed their foes’lead to grow past double digits in the first half. A quartet of threes from Preston Bunkelman kept Abbotsford in the game early, the senior scoring 12 of the team’s first 17 points. A transition layup for Blake Bargender made it a one score game and a few possessions later, a make for Evan Reis followed up with an offensive rebound putback courtesy of Grayson Totzke tied the game at 31-31.
The Screaming Eagles were able to answer on their next possession, however, and though JV Castillo would bring his team back within one just before the end of the first period, Abbotsford was not able to grab the lead for themselves. Chequamegon held a small 37-34 advantage at the half, but it would be the opening sequence of the second period that would separate the two squads.
After the Screaming Eagles’ AJ Morgan and Bargender exchanged three-point shots to start the half, the home team went on a 9-0 run over the next six minutes. An 8-2 stretch capped by a three-point shot from Bargender immediately followed, bringing the Falcons back within six, but that would be all the closer they would get. Chequamegon scored on four of their next five possessions, pulling back out to a double digit lead that they held through the rest of the contest.
Bunkelman’s 12 points led the Falcons and Bargender added 11 more. Irvin Aguilera ended the game with seven points, Reis had six points and eight rebounds and Koren Decker connected on a pair of threes to finish with six points as well. Totzke contributed five points and pulled down eight rebounds, Castillo had four points and seven assists and Carlos Lara rounded out the scoring with three points.
The Falcons will conclude their 2023-24 season with a 4-21 overall record while going 2-8 in Marawood-North games. While there were bumps in the road, Rau saw improvement over the course of the season.
“I think the season can be looked at in a negative light because of our record, but I think we made some really good steps towards improving in the future,” he stated. “We doubled our win total from last year and we lost four games by one basket. We had to learn how to play in close games and lost some close games because of inexperience.”
“We struggled early on this year with being able to create our own offense and I think we did a good job of that towards the end of the season,” he added. “Overall, I was very happy with the level of improvement the boys showed throughout the season, which is a great reflection of their work ethic and desire to improve. I want to thank the seniors for their dedication to the program.”
