Ripon rallies past PHS in regional finals

CEDAR GROVE – It’s amazing how a game can turn around in such a short time. The Plymouth Panthers’ hopes for a Division 2 boys regional basketball title were dashed in the last three minutes as Ripon rallied for a 56-52 victory here Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers were held scoreless the final 3:11 while Ripon reeled off 10 straight points to overcome a 52-46 deficit. The Tigers, who trailed 46-37 after three quarters, outscored PHS 19-6 in the final period.

Andrew Kline’s follow-up basket gave Ripon a 53-52 lead. PHS had a chance to tie the game at 55-55 with four seconds left but Ian Murray’s three-point shot missed.

The Tigers left the door open for the Panthers late in the game by missing four straight free throws, including two front ends of bonus chances.

“We had a chance to win but unfortunately we were not able to finish it off. It was frustrating,” said Panther head coach Scott Richards.

“We had our chances. The most glaring statistic was free-throw shooting. We were only 9 of 16.”

The Panthers were 0-for-4 at the foul line in the second period and missed two front ends of bonuses.

PHS attacked the basket well down the stretch but was unable to score and part of that was the Tigers’ swarming defense inside.

“We took it to the basket because they were in foul trouble. We were 2-for-10 from the field in the fourth quarter but five shots were [missed] inside at the basket,” Richards said.

The No. 1-seeded Panthers ended their season at 17-7. Ripon, the No. 3 seed, advances to the sectional semifinals with a 17-8 mark. The Tigers will face Whitefish Bay at Homestead (Mequon) Friday at 7 p.m.

Senior guard Greg Rhude exploded for 19 of his game-high 23 points to spark PHS in the first half. Rhude scored 10 points in the first period, including two three-point goals, to ignite the Panthers to an 18- 11 lead.

Rhude’s three-pointer gave PHS its largest lead of the game, 25-13, with 6:30 left in the second period.

The Tigers used a 16-4 tear in the final 5:25 of the second quarter to tie the game, 29-all at halftime. After a Panther turnover with 10 seconds remaining, Michael Polcyn buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to knot the score.

PHS bounced back in the third quarter, keyed by an aggressive man-to-man defense and junior guard Mitch Unger. Unger slashed to the basket several times which led to most of his nine points in the period.

Ian Murray contributed six points in the quarter which saw the Panthers hold a 17-8 scoring edge.

“Greg’s first half was unbelievable,” said Richards. “Mitch hit 9 of 10 free throws and he went to the basket.

“Spencer Strong [senior center] did a good job and played solid defense.

“Defensively, we did what we needed to do. They hit some big shots and rotated the ball well,” Richards noted.

“I’m proud of the team,” said Tiger head coach Dean Vander Plas, a former basketball standout at Oostburg High School.

“They did real well. I’m happy with how the kids responded. This is a great team.

“It helped that we played in a lot of close games. We’re deeper [than Plymouth] and I felt we had a chance to get them tired.”

Richards agreed that Ripon had better depth and that both teams got tired. Murray led PHS in rebounds with six. Unger had a team-high six assists. Rhude led in steals with two. Senior guard Jon Criter, who was averaging 11 points per game for PHS coming in, was held scoreless. Michael Polcyn paced Ripon scorers with 14. Marcus Walters led in boards with eight. BOYS BASKETBALL

Score by Quarters Ripon…………………….11 18 8 19 – 56 Plymouth..........…..….18 11 17 6 – 52

Ripon scoring: Andrew Freeman 1, Michael Polcyn 14, Andrew Kline 13, Sean Dugenske 9, Marcus Walters 10, Matt Birschbach 6, Jesse Ehrenberg 3.

Plymouth scoring: Greg Rhude 23, Mitch Unger 17, Spencer Strong 4, Ian Murray 8.

Three-point goals: Kline 1, Ehrenberg 1, Polcyn 2, Dugenske 1, Rhude 3. Field goals: Ripon 20-40, 50%; Plymouth 20-43, 47%. Free throws: Ripon 11-17, 65%; Plymouth 9-16, 56%. Rebounds: Ripon 27, Plymouth 21. Turnovers: Ripon ___________________________ 12, Plymouth 11.