State tournaments cancelled
By Greg Seubert
At least the season ended with a victory.
A 91-42 win over Mosinee March 12 in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal gave the Hortonville boys’ basketball team its 20th win of the season and set up a sectional final matchup with La Crosse Central, with the winner advancing to state.
That didn’t happen, as the WIAA, which oversees high school athletics in Wisconsin, pulled the plug on the boys’ and girls’ state tournaments due to concerns with coronavirus.
The announcement to cancel the tournaments came hours after the Polar Bears’ win over the Indians at Wausau East High School.
The game, as well as other boys’ sectional semifinals throughout Wisconsin and the first four games of the girls’ tournament at the Resch Center in Green Bay, were played to small crowds after the WIAA restricted attendance.
“We met with the guys earlier in the day when we heard the news,” coach Matt Hintz said. “The No. 1 thing I told the guys was, ‘You’re here to play basketball. Whatever else is going on doesn’t affect you right now. We’re going to play basketball.’”
The Polar Bears led by as many as 26 points in the first half and had a 49-26 lead at the break.
“Our guys were pretty dialed in all week,” Hintz said. “I don’t think that changed today.”
The win came less than a week after the Polar Bears had a 32-point lead in the second half against Antigo in a regional semifinal and had to hold on for a 79-75 win.
“I felt like our defense wore on (Mosinee),” Hintz said. “Antigo made a great comeback and made a few more shots in the second half. I think our guys learned from it quite a bit. Mosinee has a lot of firepower and there’s no doubt it crossed our minds.”
Parker Lawrence led Hortonville with 17 points, while Logan Grossman, Cole Warning and Jayqon Owens added 15, 13 and 10, respectively.
Jake Placek led Mosinee with 10 points.
The win capped successful seasons for the Hortonville boys’ and girls’ programs. The girls won their fourth straight sectional championship and were to face Oregon in a Division 2 state semifinal March 13.
“It’s great for our town,” Hintz said. “We have great support. I wish they could all be here, but with everything going on, they can’t. It means a lot to our community. Our girls’ program is doing a great job and we’re finally having a great season.
“It brings our whole school and whole town together,” he added. “It just shows the character of the kids we have in school. Our kids feed off of it together as a group.”
