WEST SALEM — West Salem High School boys basketball coach Shane Schmeling has been beating the drum of his team being perceived as an underdog all season.
That doesn’t change this week even if his Panthers (24-4) are seeded second when they match up with third-seeded Whitefish Bay (22-6) in a WIAA Division 2 state semifinal around 3:30 p.m. Friday at the Kohl Center in Madison.
It started when a statewide publication picked West Salem to place second to G-E-T in the Coulee Conference and continued with many in the local basketball community expected them to be the third-best Division 2 team in the area behind MVC powerhouses Onalaska and Central.
“We took that as a little slap at us, and it motivated the kids,” Schmeling said.
The Panthers swept the Red Hawks — eventual Division 3 sectional championship qualifiers — on the way to an unbeaten conference season but did lose regular-season games to both the Hilltoppers and RiverHawks.
Can West Salem continue the momentum of postseason wins over Onalaska and Central and a fourth sectional championship in five years with a win over the Blue Dukes?
It won’t be easy, but none of its tournament wins have been so far.
The Panthers have won four postseason games by a combined 13 points — seven of those coming in the 61-54 victory over Menasha at Arcadia last Saturday.
Whitefish Bay brings different challenges to West Salem and Schmeling, who has previously coached Bangor’s girls to a state championship and taken the Onalaska girls to a state tournament.
The most significant will be the pressure for its defense to perform. The Panthers have emphasized defense much more this season than in previous ones, but Whitefish Bay has scored at least 85 points in seven games and have four players averaging at least 12 points per game.
“They have a couple guards who will be a challenge to keep in front of us,” Schmeling said. “They also have guys who can shoot (the ball) well if their feet are set.”
Junior Colin Julien is the biggest threat with his average of 18.5 points per game and 40.7-percent 3-point shooting (59 for 145). Whitefish Bay coach Ryan Fiet said the 6-foot-4 guard/forward is receiving some Division II recruiting interest.
“He reminds me of Kevin Durant,” Schmeling said of Julien. “He shoots like Durant, he’s really good on pull-ups and has a nice mid-range game.”
That could mean the West Salem counter is defending him with 6-3 senior Spencer Kammel, who probably doesn’t get the recognition he deserves in terms of his contribution. Kammel’s defense can get lost in the shuffle, and he’s a good rebounder (5.7 per game) who shoots 49.7 percent from the floor (77 for 155), 38.7 percent from the 3-point line (14 for 36) to go with averages of 6.6 points and 3.0 assists per game.
“Defense and rebounding,” Kammel said of his role. “We have a lot of people who can go out and get 20 (points) in a game.
“For me, defense and rebounding is where it’s at.”
Limiting Julien is a top priority, but the Blue Dukes also have capable scorers in 6-1 senior Marcus Webb (13.9 ppg), 5-11 sophomore Mace Miskel (12.4 ppg) and 6-2 junior Jack Brodersen (12.0 ppg).
“We play fast, and I think a lot of it has to do with the opponents we’ve played,” Whitefish Bay coach Ryan Fiet said. “The other teams loved to play fast. (Milwaukee Academy of Science) took 43 3s (in a sectional semifinal), and the possessions were so short.
“We’re attacking more and getting more confident. We want to get to the rim and finish or hit open guys. We talk about pace, and we want to keep the pace going.”
West Salem also has four double-figure scorers with senior Tyson Labus (15.5 ppg) leading the way. Junior Drew McConkey adds 14.3, senior Nate Dillaber 13.6 and sophomore Elliott Corcoran 10.2 after a season-high 21 in Saturday’s win over Menomonie.
Dillaber is the only experienced state player on the roster after playing 23 minutes in an 89-69 semifinal loss to Pewaukee as a sophomore. He scored five points and pulled down a team-high eight rebounds in that game. Dillaber has consistently sparked the Panthers with his 3-point shooting this season (130 for 300) and effectiveness in transition in addition to his averages of 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game.
“I think it’s my job to initiate (discussion of the experience),” Dillaber said. “All I’ve been doing all year is trying to show some of the younger players the right way to do things, and this is no different.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play on this team for three years now, and I think my job is to help keep guys focused through the things we get to do.”
Corcoran scored 36 points and made 9 of 17 3-pointers during the two sectional wins and has seen his contribution increase as the season has progressed. Schmeling said a growth spurt has led to some adjustments and required patience with Corcoran’s game.
“Elliott Corcoran has been phenomenal,” Schmeling said. “He’s had some big, big moments and played really well against Onalaska and Central.
“He was 5-9 a year-and-a-half ago, and he is 6-5 now. He’s gotten stronger and is starting to figure it out.”
McConkey was the player of the year in the Coulee Conference and has been a reliable scorer, rebounder and defender all season. He stepped in to guard 6-8 Trevor Robert of Menomonie last weekend and severely limited his production down the stretch.
McConkey and Kammel were also on the West Salem team that qualified two years ago, but they received a little more than a minute on the court. If West Salem gets the chance to play for a championship on Saturday, it will certainly have something to do with McConkey’s play against the Blue Dukes.
“We’re just focused on cleaning up our stuff and what we can control,” he said. “We have to be able to execute our plays because we didn’t do a great job of that (against Menomonie). That has to be better in this game.”
