HOLMEN — Kaiden Wilber ran toward the basket and jumped in anticipation of a pass from teammate Keenan Eisermann.
Holmen High School boys basketball coach Ryan Meyer gave his Vikings a couple of options when they inbounded the ball with 5.5 seconds left and their MVC showdown with Aquinas tied. The capacity crowd was energetic and the atmosphere dripping for a big play.
A lob to Wilber was one of the options Meyer outlined, and Eisermann fired the pass. Wilber drew contact and was sent to the foul line with his team needing one successful free throw to take the lead and have a chance at a piece of its first conference championship in 10 years.
Wilber made both free throws, and the Blugolds turned the ball over at the other end to allow Holmen to hold on for a wild 71-69 victory at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse on Thursday.
“It was just a backdoor lob,” Wilber said of the final possession. “If we couldn’t get it, we were going to kick it back and hit a last-second shot, so it all worked out.”
Wilber finished with a team-high 18 points and made 8 of 11 attempts from the foul line. Sophomore Jayden Bartels added 17 points and several big 3-pointers in the second half as the teams battled back and forth in a game for the ages.
The Vikings (19-5, 9-3) and Blugolds (20-3, 9-3) traded punches for 36 minutes straight and took turns landing shots in bunches.
Both teams shot the ball well, both teams defended well, and both stood up to the pressure of a very large and loud crowd of fans.
Aquinas scored eight of the first 10 points of the game, but Holmen came back and eventually had a 17-16 lead.
It looked like the Vikings had finally broken things open when three straight baskets capped by an Alex Berget 3-pointer gave them a 53-44 lead with 13:39 left, but the Blugolds controlled the action the next 10 minutes and took a 65-62 lead when Trey Bahr scored off a pass from Calvin Bahr with 3:31 to play.
Holmen scored the next five points, then the teams traded baskets. A steal and layup by Logan Becker with 38.1 seconds remaining tied the score at 69.
“We’ve been resilient all year,” Meyer said. “We faced some adversity, and Aquinas landed some punches there, but we executed down the stretch, and Kaiden hit a couple free throws.”
Holmen also knocked down its 3-pointers, making 10 of 19 attempts. Bartels had five and always seemed to be there when the Vikings needed one. He made three in the second half and tied the game at 65 on his last on a drive a kickout from Wilber with 3:05 on the clock.
“That’s basically our main offense,” Bartels said of the drive and kick. “We have people who can drive, and we have people to can knock down those open shots.”
Eisermann also scored 15 points for Holmen, which made 25 of 51 shots for 49 percent. Berget added 11.
The Blugolds shot 56 percent (27 of 48) from the floor and were led by Becker’s 17 points. Calvin Bahr and Trey Bahr both had 14 points and eight rebounds.
