WEST SALEM — West Salem High School boys basketball coach Shane Schmeling estimated that he would be awake until approximately 2 a.m. Friday to familiarize himself with the next opponent.
Schmeling said Friday afternoon that his task lasted 75 minutes longer than anticipated, but that tends to happen when there is a spot in the WIAA state tournament on the line.
The Panthers (23-4) are in the sectional finals for the fifth year in a row and are trying to become state qualifiers for the fourth time in five years when they match up with Menomonie (19-8) in a 1 p.m. Division 2 sectional final at Arcadia on Saturday.
What Schmeling learned the biggest obstacle — literally — in making that happen is 6-foot-8 junior Trevor Robert, who averages 18.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game for a team trying to get to its first state tournament since 2006.
“We can’t let him get the ball deep,” Schmeling said of Robert. “We will have to push him up a little bit, and we just can’t let him beat us.
“He’s capable of going out there and getting 25 (points), and if he does that, we’re going to have a tough time.”
A key figure in trying to limit a big game from Robert will be 6-6 senior Tyson Labus, a versatile defender who helped limit Central guard Anthony Jones in Thursday’s semifinal. West Salem also can’t back down with their post attack.
“We have to go up strong against (Robert),” said senior Spencer Kammel, who averages 6.9 points and 5.7 rebounds. “They have some good athletes, but we have to use the size we have in our lineup. I think we should be able to score in the paint, and hopefully that will lead to some open 3s.”
The Panthers haven’t shot the ball their best from the 3-point line in recent games, but it has been a strength throughout the season. Senior Nate Dillaber and sophomore Elliott Corcoran both hit big 3s deep in the second half of the win over Central, and Labus made a key 3 late in the win over Onalaska.
West Salem has knocked down 206 3-pointers this season, and Dillaber’s 69 lead the team. Corcoran has 34, junior Drew McConkey 17, senior Will Schmidt 14 and Kammel 14 on just 35 attempts (40 percent).
The Panthers will have to be ready for some pressure defense after nearly collapsing against Central’s press and trap on Thursday. The RiverHawks (22-5) were able to erase a 17-point second-half deficit with it, and the Mustangs may attempt to duplicate that success.
“Our spacing was really bad, and we talked about that a lot today,” said Schmidt, who averages a team-high 4.1 assists. “Menomonie has a press, but it doesn’t have as much trapping. We’ll be ready for it if we see it (Saturday).”
West Salem enters the confident but realistic.
The confidence comes with consecutive victories over top-10 teams in Onalaska and Central. The reality is also that its three tournament victories are by a total of six points.
“We’ve beaten three very good teams,” said Schmeling, whose fourth-seeded team opened with a win over third-seeded New London 63-62 before beating top-seeded Onalaska 50-48 and second-seeded Central 73-70. “But we have also done it by the skin of our teeth, so we can’t take anything for granted.”
The Panthers will also focus on senior guard Jake Rue, who averages 12.5 points as an exclusive perimeter threat. Rue has taken 265 shots this season, but 215 of them have come from behind the 3-point line.
Something the Panthers believe they can bank on is local support for the current biggest game of the season.
“It’s such an amazing culture with everyone who shows up to games,” Kammel said. “March is a special time, and it feel so amazing to experience that here.”
Schmidt said the conversation in a group chat with players from last year’s team that lost its sectional final has been very active.
“They all come out and support us or watch online,” Schmidt said. “That’s what the camaraderie and family that West Salem has become with our recent success.”
