ONALASKA — It took three possessions for the Onalaska Luther High School boys basketball team to assert its will on visiting Mondovi as it opened the WIAA Division 4 playoffs on Tuesday.
The jump ball when to the Knights and ended up in the hands of Will Huelskamp or an easy basket in the lane.
The Buffaloes moved the ball for about a minute on their first possession, but Luther senior Synclair Byus stole it and went the other way for two points. A steal in the inbounds pass quickly turned into a Jackson Kendall drive to the hoop and six-point lead 1 minute, 26 seconds after the opening tip.
“We started in our diamond (press), and when we start like that, we’re a tough team to beat,” Byus said. “It gets us going, we’re intense, and it wakes us up right away.”
The sixth-ranked Knights (19-6) scored the first eight points of the game and kept the offense flowing and defense pesky during a 78-57 regional quarterfinal victory over the 11th-ranked Buffaloes (3-22). That moves Luther to a semifinal at third-seeded Durand-Arkansaw (19-5) — a team it didn’t play this season — on Friday.
“A lot of times, we start with the press just to get our energy going,” Luther coach Dan Unke said. “If not, we sometimes start a little flat. We wanted to try it for a couple possessions and get the flow of the game where we wanted it.”
The Knights scored 13 of the first 15 points, and while Mondovi did get within 21-15 with 5:58 left in the half, it never appeared to be a true threat. Will Huelskamp answered that run with a putback, and Max Huelskamp hit a 3-pointer the next time down the court for a 26-15 lead.
Luther also ended the half with an 11-2 run over the final 2 minutes for a 42-23 halftime lead.
Byus scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, and he had nine of the 11 on run that ended the half. Will Huelskamp scored a team-high 23 and had 13 in the second half. Byus also had a team-high six assists.
The Knights also enjoyed the balance they desire with 13 points from Max Huelskamp and 11 from Brody Greeeno. Huelskamp also had six rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and two steals.
What they have to do moving forward is continue the good starts. That didn’t happen in the regular-season finale against West Salem, and it turned into a one-sided loss. Unke said keeping his team in the right mindset will be important if a lengthy tournament run is going to happen.
“Staying calm and level-headed when things aren’t going the way we want them is important,” Unke said. “We’ve had times where things have gone that way, and we’ve had a tough time getting out of it.
“Mondovi did get close a couple of times, and we did fine, so that was good.”
Also good was a defense that came up with 20 steals and an offense that shot 53 percent (30 of 57) from the floor. The Knights also made 11 of 15 free throws and 7 of their 20 attempts from the 3-point line.
It all added up to just the kind of start Luther needed for the postseason.
“We wanted to show dominance,” Byus said. “That’s the name of the game. We knew we were better and had to prove that on the court.
“You’ve gotta get out there and prove it.”
