Published: March 1, 2014
East beats West in a classic
Suns’ Manhardt makes late free throw
By NICHOLAS DETTMANN
Daily News
West Bend East’s Alex Manhardt was confident, but not cocky
with the game resting in the palm of his hands.
He was still that way after missing the first of two free
throws with 1.6 seconds remaining of a tied game against rival West Bend West
in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal.
West coach Ryan Wietor called a timeout ready to draw up a
potential game-winning play and to let Manhardt think just a little bit more
about the next free throw.
“All that was going through my head was legs, elbow, reach
is what coach (Jack) Vande Zande always says,” Manhardt said.
Manhardt made it with ease.
After an exchange of timeouts, a long inbounds pass to
West’s Jacob Duening was spot on, but he stepped out of bounds before he took
the potential game-winning shot.
Game over. East wins a nail-biter, 40-39.
It was a game that will likely be talked about for ages in
West Bend.
“I couldn’t help but smile because it was a big game, big
atmosphere,” Manhardt said, adding he never lost confidence with his free-throw
shooting.
“I was like: If I miss the first one, I’ll make the second
one,” he said.
Maybe more than expected, the atmosphere couldn’t have been
better for a pair of rivals meeting in the postseason for the first since 2007.
The fieldhouse was about three-quarters full and the student
sections for both schools were loud and proud.
“This is one of the best East-West games I’ve ever been a
part of,” East coach Ryan Tomczyk said. “It was great to be a part of it.”
And the game was anything but a disappointment. The biggest
lead for either team was by East when it led West, 33-26 at the start of the
fourth quarter.
East led most of the first half until a 3-pointer by Joe
Peplinski with 2:14 left in the second quarter gave West an 18-15 lead. It
stayed that way into halftime.
“It was a good battle,” Wietor said. “Both teams battled,
they fought, they competed.
“There’s a lot of seniors on the floor. When you have a lot
of seniors on the floor, that’s what you’re going to get.”
Like he has all season, East’s Ben Vande Zande shined in a
crucial spot.
The senior converted a three-point play just 14 seconds into
the second half to tie the game at 18-18. From there, the Suns settled down,
outscoring the Spartans, 18-8, in the third quarter.
“He helped us take the proverbial lid off the hoop and get
us going in the second half,” Tomczyk said.
Vande Zande came big on defense, too.
Peplinski led a fast break after an East turnover and
appeared he was going to convert an easy layup. But Vande Zande, hustling back
on defense, got a hand on the ball and it glanced off Peplinski out of bounds,
giving the ball back to East.
“He’s a heady, steady senior,” Wietor said of Vande Zande.
“That kid is a good player.” Vande Zande finished 16 points, 11 in the second
half to lead East, while Andrew Duening led West with 13 points.
West could’ve gone away when Duening went down with a right
ankle injury on the front-end of an and-one play with 4:12 left in the game.
Duening didn’t return to the game. Duening’s layup made it 37-33 and Matt
Koerner made the ensuing free throw to make it 37-34. West didn’t and wasn’t
going to quit.
The Spartans rallied to tie the game at 37 and again at 39.
With the clock winding under five seconds, it was a
free-for-all to get the rebound on a shot attempt by East. A foul was called
with 1.6 seconds left, putting Manhardt at the free-throw line.
“I was like if I miss this one I get a second chance,” he
said.
With a couple dribbles, Manhardt put up the first free
throw. He missed. Timeout West. Manhardt was 5-for-6 at the line before the
miss for the game.
Out of the timeout, Manhardt confidently put up the next
free throw and made it, sending the East fans into a frenzy. They went into an
even bigger frenzy when the clock hit zeros.
“I didn’t bend my legs at all and I missed it short,”
Manhardt said.
East will play Plymouth at 7 p.m. today for the regional
championship. It is East’s second straight regional final appearance, losing at
Slinger last season.
Not since at least 2002 have the Suns played for a regional
title at home.
“These guys have worked for it,” Tomczyk said.
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