Not bad for a team that had no returning starters from last season.
Despite that lack of experience, the Madison Warhawks (15-12) still finished second in the 6D North Region boys high-school basketball tournament for the second straight year, losing to the South Lakes Seahawks, 64-26, in the Feb. 23 championship game at South Lakes.
The Seahawks were comfortably ahead, 33-9, at halftime, as Madison was coming off a physical road victory the night before in the region semifinals against the host Wakefield Warriors and was missing a starter (Ryan Furlong, stomach flu) in the title contest.
Prior to the season, Madison coach Kevin Roller said the players wrote the words "can we get there" on a board regarding a return to the region final.
"I told them you have to first qualify for the region tournament first, and they did that," Roller said.
For Madison in the region final, Steven Cruz scored eight points, Noah Baker and Darren Knicely scored five each, Sumay Frueh four with two assists and Michael Dinkelacker had seven rebounds.
"We really missed Ryan tonight," Roller said. "Our rotations and everything changes with him out, and he's another good ball handler. We just couldn't get started tonight. South Lakes is very good and takes advantage of even your small mistakes."
South Lakes is 4-0 against Madison this season and has defeated the Warhawks 10 straight times, including the title games of this season and last's region and Concorde District tourney championship contests.
Madison still moves on to the Class 6 state tourney for the second straight season and fourth time in seven campaigns. (Would have been five if not for shortened COVID season). The Warhawks have played in region final five times in seven years, winning the 2016-17 title.
Madison was 2-1 in this winter's region tourney, defeating McLean, 53-45, in the first round, then winning on the road against the Wakefield Warriors (21-5) by a 59-53 score in a back-and-forth Feb. 22 semifinal.
In the semis, there were three ties and eight lead changes. Madison took the lead for good at 32-31 with 4:20 left in the third quarter on a Knicely layup. That began a 7-0 Madison run.
The game was close the rest of the way, with Madison maintaining the lead by making 11 fourth-quarter free throws, four each by guards Cruz (21 points, five three-pointers) and Frueh (12 points). Frueh swished eight straight foul shots in the second half, as he shot into a large and active Wakefield student section trying its best to distract him in various manners in the background.
“I just blurred all that out and shot,” Frueh said. “It was a hard game, but we executed our game plan.”
Cruz helped Madison start well by hitting the first four three-pointers he attempted in the first half. He made one more in the fourth quarter.
“Steven Cruz kept us in the game in the first half,” Roller said. “I kept saying all season we would need a game when Steven made five three pointers, and he did that tonight.”
Baker had a big game for Madison with nine points, seven rebounds and two steals. Knicely had eight points; Dinkelacker added seven points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals; and Hobbes Fiel made a big fourth-quarter basket.
“Noah Baker had maybe his best game for us. This was a resilient group, and we made a lot of big plays when we needed,” Roller said.
On defense, Madison made shooting difficult for Wakefield’s top-scoring forwards Carlton Young (nine points, 10 rebounds) and Miles Hancock (seven points, four boards). They combined for 16 points on 6 of 17 shooting from the floor.
“We tried to make them shoot from difficult angles,” Roller said.
For Madison against McLean, Knicely scored 13, Frueh 11, Baker, Dinkelacker and Cruz seven each and Ryan Furlong six.
