Red Hawks regroup and fly past Orioles

There was a point in time when the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau boys basketball team wouldn’t have been able to get through adversity like it faced in the sectional semifinal game against Stanley-Boyd (22-5) in Osseo on Thursday.

This time, however, the Red Hawks regrouped after seeing a big lead disappear. The Red Hawks came back, hitting several tough shots and getting key defensive stops to hold on for a 90-80 win. 

The Red Hawks took a 12-point lead into halftime, but the Orioles stormed out of the gates in the second half. With junior Troy Haas hitting a few big shots and six-foot-eight Charlie Hoel throwing down an emphatic dunk, S-B cut the lead to two and sparked a G-E-T timeout with 13:35 remaining in the game.

While past teams might have folded in that moment, G-E-T Coach Ian Anderson knew his squad was prepared. 

“I didn’t say anything crazy (during the timeout), just that we were OK,” Anderson said. “We talked about earlier in the season or even last year, we probably would have either panicked or rolled over at that point and given up.” 

Anderson said in the past his team might have sat back and watched “Mason ball” — a reference to star guard Mason Brone — but this team stayed aggressive.

“I thought we did a great job of staying with the plan,” Anderson said. “Some shots fell, we got some stops, and we were persistent.”

The S-B storm didn’t stop with the G-E-T timeout. While the Red Hawks held them off for a few minutes, Luke Herman — who had already scored 10 points in the half — picked up his fourth foul with 10:23 remaining in the game. Shortly after, Haas connected on a deep three-pointer to put the Orioles ahead, 64-62.

G-E-T answered as Brone got to the basket and drew a foul, connecting on two free throws to tie the game. Brone made another free throw later to put his team ahead by one. Hoel answered with another big dunk, but the game turned when Mitchell Thell drilled a three-pointer to put the Red Hawks ahead, 68-66, with 7:37 remaining.

Brone scored again a couple of possessions later to make it a two-possession game. Brayten Mallo hit a three-pointer for S-B, but Herman had just reentered the game and answered with a three of his own. Brone then scored on G-E-T’s next possession, sparking a S-B timeout as G-E-T took a six-point lead with 5:13 remaining.

The Red Hawks continued to charge as Brone scored again, this time while being fouled and then made the ensuing free throw to put his team ahead by nine. Brone scored a game-high 33 points in the contest. 

Mallo connected on another deep shot for S-B, but Brone and sophomore guard Talon Fabian took over down the stretch. Brone scored again and Fabian hit four free throws, the last of which put his team ahead by 10 with 1:35 left in the game.

The Orioles were able to score in the closing minutes, but Brone made five free throws in the final 90 seconds to clinch the win.

Brone got off to a strong start in the game, scoring G-E-T’s first 10 points, but G-E-T still trailed early. When the rest of the team’s players got going, the Red Hawks seemed to take control of the game.

Fabian connected on a three-pointer that gave G-E-T an 18-17 lead. Sam DeJager drilled two threes as G-E-T started to take control. S-B tied the game at 24 before the Red Hawks scored 10 straight points, including two baskets by Herman, a three-point play by Travis Theisen and a three-pointer by Fabian. 

Herman scored nine points in the final eight minutes of the first half, while Brone and Fabian made three-pointers to help the team go ahead 49-34. Hoel made a deep three to cut the lead to 12 at halftime.

Herman kept G-E-T afloat as S-B made its run early in the second half as the junior scored 10 points early. He finished with a career-high 21 points. 

“We knew coming in they were probably going to dare Luke and, I hate to say role players, but role offensive players, try to beat them,” Anderson said. “Luke really stepped up tonight. He was very good finishing on the pick-and-rolls tonight and, when he found his shot in the second half, that was a game-changer.”

G-E-T shot 54% from the field in the game and made 11-of-23 three-pointers. 

The Red Hawks (23-4) will play Saturday at Eau Claire North with a shot to advance to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association State Tournament. G-E-T is set to take on a team it has already defeated this season, Saint Croix Central (18-9). The Red Hawks defeated the Panthers, 53-43, on Jan. 16.

G-E-T (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Herman 7/11-5/7-4-4-21 Thell 2/3-1/2-6-1-7 Brone 10/17-11/13-4-3-33 Fabian 3/5-6/9-4-1-15 Theisen 1/4-4/5-5-2-6 Giemza 0/4-0/0-1-0-0 De Jager 3/4-0/0-0-3-8 Foust 0/0-0/0-2-0-0