MADISON — It was much too early to win the game but not a bit too early to make a statement about how the rest of it was going to go.
A drive through the lane was followed by a steal and another easy hoop.
Then, the 3-point barrage. One from Trey Bahr, one from Finley Strom and one from Brayden Young.
Over the course of 3 minutes, 6 seconds, a one-point deficit became a 10-point lead, and the Aquinas High School boys basketball team had top-seeded Bonduel right where it wanted in the WIAA Division 4 championship game at the Kohl Center.
The Blugolds attacked the Bears from all angles on Saturday and succeeded at most of them in what became a 74-45 victory that made them champions for the first time since 2013.
“I don’t think I felt comfortable until the final horn went off,” Aquinas coach Brad Reinhart said of the early run. “But that does speak volumes to how we have had success this year.
“It’s been a collection, it’s been balance, it’s been just making the right basketball play and letting the ball find the open hands. So that run is a testament of exactly what we are trying to do when we are at our best.”
Aquinas (26-3) was certainly at its best for most of the contest against a Bonduel (28-2) team making its first state appearance. The Bears were able to hang for a bit after the Blugolds took charge, but there was never a question as to who was in control after Young’s 3-pointer off a pass from Strom produced a 19-9 lead with 11:46 left in the first half.
Aquinas made 11 of 24 3-point attempts and had six players make at least one to complete their second consecutive state trip with a title — its fifth since 2003.
The Blugolds made life difficult on 6-foot-6 junior Ryan Westrich and played Bonduel’s game better than Bonduel.
“We like a fast pace,” Bonduel coach Duke Copp said. “We were going to try to push it, but they got a couple breakouts on us where we didn’t get back in time, I think.
“They were aggressive defensively, and we had a tough time, I think, penetrating and creating shots for our guys.”
Sophomore Calvin Bahr drew the primary assignment of handling Westrich — a Division I football prospect as a defensive end — but help was always there when needed. He finished with 11 points and five rebounds and gave the Bears a 7-6 lead but didn’t score again until after the Bears had fallen behind by 14 points.
“He’s good, but we had a good game plan,” Calvin Bahr said. “We’ve played big guys before, but this guy has more muscle on him and is a little beefier, but I just tried to stop his back-down as much as I could, and I trusted my back-side help.”
The Blugolds shot 65.5 percent in the first half (19 for 29) and 58.5 percent for the game (31 for 53).
Trey Bahr led the team with 20 points and made 9 of 11 shots. He ability to get to the rim — both in transition and in the half-court set, opened up teammates on the perimeter, and they took full advantage. Becker added 16 points and Calvin Bahr 15 as Aquinas won for the 11th time in 12 games.
Young had eight points and eight rebounds, Vincent Bahr made two big 3-pointers to jumpstart the Blugolds in the second half, and Strom had seven points.
Photos below courtesy of Cameron Reinhart.
