March 4, 2022 – Cedarburg, WI – Hoping to kickstart another Cinderella-run through the WIAA bracket after last year’s performance, the No. 5 West Bend East Suns were ready to fight in the enemy territory of North Shore Conference rival No. 4 Cedarburg.
The game started fast for the Bulldogs, taking advantage of three-point shooting to get ahead early. However, the Suns were able to remain calm and turn the physicality of Bulldogs around on them to gain valuable opportunities.
The eight fouls Cedarburg committed in the first half allowed West Bend East to remain within striking distance, only trailing 27-22 at halftime.
The Bulldogs would manage to start the second half strong and seemingly began to take control of the game. With about eight minutes to play left to play in the second half though, the Suns were able to reclaim the tempo and pace to their playstyle and found much comfort in their shooting, allowing them to go on a run that would tie the game.
From there it was back-and-forth action with the teams trading shots, the lead, and fouls consistently. With just 30 seconds left, the Suns, whom had been trailing 59-57 scored off a contested layup to tie the game at 59-59.
Just when it seemed the game was headed to overtime, Cedarburg senior Matt Doman drove to the basket with a layup that went in with just 1.2 seconds left. Despite an impressive full court pass, the Suns could not get another shot up, falling 61-59 after the final buzzer.
Cedarburg’s offense was led by senior Garrett Bastar who had 13 points.
West Bend East’s top scorer was junior Calvin Buss with 20 points.
Other local scores from tonight’s games:
Division 1:
- No. 11 Germantown def. No. 6 Sheboygan North, 74-72; will face No. 3 Homestead on Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.
- No. 2 De Pere def. No. 15 Hartford Union, 95-62
Division 2:
- No. 1 Nicolet def. No. 9 West Bend West, 59-54
- No. 2 Beaver Dam def. No. 7 Slinger, 56-53
Division 3:
- No. 6 Kiel def. No. 3 Kettle Moraine Lutheran, 80-79 (1OT)
- No. 4 Kewaskum def. No. 12 Ripon, 43-40; Kewaskum will take No. 1 Lake County Lutheran on Saturday, March 5 at 7 p.m.