3/13/2010 5:44:00 PM
Kiel is headed to state!!!!
Raiders topple Seymour 52-49
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| | WIAA BOYS SECTIONAL BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP | Kiel 52 Seymour 49
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By Craig Hoffman
TC News Sports Editor
They weren't supposed to beat Fox Valley Lutheran. They did.
They weren't supposed to beat Valders. They did.
Waupun beat them twice in conference play and they weren't supposed to beat them on the third try. But they did.
Then there was Seymour. The king of the Green Bay Sectional and a strong favorite. Kiel wasn't supposed to beat them either.
But Isaiah Herzog, Joey Burris, DJ Driscoll, Sam Moehring, Austin Williams, Cody Retlich, Brandon Gries, Derek Meyer, Brandon Riesterer, Eli Walsdorf, Tyler Schickert, Kyle Preissner, Ryan Reseburg and Peter Kraus, all conquered another mountain Saturday afternoon.
The Kiel boys basketball team is heading to the state tournament for just the second time in school history after a dramatic 52-49 win over Seymour in the championship game of the WIAA Division 2 Green Bay West Sectional held before an estimated 5,000 people in the Brown County Arena.
Keeping their composure, the Jamie Arenz-coached Raiders refused to fold after falling behind in the third quarter.
Herzog comes up big
And there were a lot of heroes in this one.
Brandon Gries' three-pointer with 2:02 to go put Kiel up 48-47 after they trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter. His two free throws with 26 seconds left put the Raiders up 52-49 and then the Kiel defense stuffed Seymour on its final attempt to force overtime and the large Kiel contingent erupted in celebration when the final horn sounded.
Joey Burris came on strong after a brief struggle in the first half and then Isaiah Herzog played perhaps as big of a role as anyone.
He came off the bench to knock down two straight baskets to start the Kiel third quarter rally and hit another big bucket in the final minute of the game.
Kiel will play its state opener on Friday at about 3:15 p.m. against the winner of tonight's Maple Northwestern versus Onalaska game being played at UW-Stout in Menomonie.
We'll have more on the game shortly with a box score, photo gallery and comments.
In interview sessions with the media after the game, here are a few comments:
BRANDON GRIES: "We knew that if we could get out and run before Seymour set up their zone, we would be in good shape."
ISAIAH HERZOG (on his huge shots): "I didn't think twice. I saw openings to the hoop and I took off."
COACH JAMIE ARENZ: "This team is mentally strong. We weren't supposed to get past Fox Valley Lutheran, but this group has shown heart and we beat three number one seeds in a row. It's an unbelievable feeling."
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