Lancers will face top-ranked Hamilton
Wildcats' top player may miss game due to suspension
Brookfield Central coach Mark Adams will be hoping this season doesn't end the same way last year did.
The fifth-seeded Lancers beat fourth-seeded Whitnall at Whitnall, 73-65, on Saturday to win the regional championship. They now advance to the Greenfield Sectional to face top-ranked Milwaukee Hamilton (18-3) in a game at 6 tonight.
The winner of the Central-Hamilton game will battle the winner of second-seeded Racine Park/third-seeded Waterford in the sectional title game at 7 p.m. Saturday.
"We're facing the same team that beat us in the regional championship game last year," Adams said of his team's upcoming meeting with the Wildcats.
Good team gets better
Hamilton beat Central, 40-22, in a defensive battle last year. The Wildcats took a 12-11 first-quarter lead, and then went on a 16-8 second-quarter run to take a 28-19 lead at halftime.
Neither team could find the basket in the second half, as Hamilton outscored Central, 6-1, and 6-2, in the final two periods.
Hamilton, which is ranked first or second in both state polls, is even better this time around. The team won the City Conference with a 12-1 record and are 18-3 overall.
"They are a more veteran team, having (had) a year to play together," Adams said. "They are a highly athletic team."
The Wildcats are led by 6-foot-5-inch junior Elgin Cook, who is averaging 15.6 points per game, and 6-7 junior Darnell Harris, who scores 14.3 points per game.
Cook, who was hit with two technical fouls and tossed from the game in the Wildcats' 68-56 win over Franklin on Saturday, could be suspended for the game.
The WIAA rules say a player who is tossed because of technical fouls, flagrant fouls or unsportsmanlike conduct is ineligible to play the next game.
Wildcats have options
But Adams also is impressed with the talented Harris.
"He is a physically mature player," he said. "He is close to 6-8, and he looks like he could be taken in the NBA draft. He gives them a post-presence that a championship team needs."
Adams sees versatility as one of the Wildcats' strengths.
"They have a lot of athleticism, but they can be disciplined," he said. "But they also go up and down the court and they transition well. They are going to be a tremendous challenge."
Cook and Harris are usually joined by Charles Lee, a 5-9 guard (9.1 PPG), Jalonie Parks (7.4) and Itavian Belcher, a 6-5 sophomore forward (5.8), in the starting lineup.
The Wildcats have won 13 of their last 14 games, with only an 89-85 loss to Milwaukee Rufus King in the season finale marring their streak.
Lancers on a streak
The Lancers are on their own streak, having won seven of their last eight games.
"We challenged their focus in February," Adams said. "We went on that good streak, and then we told them now we have to get to sectionals."
Adams credits the play of 6-1 junior point guard Alex Olson as key down the stretch.
"When we say someone is a quality point guard, we are looking at a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio," Adams said. "Down the stretch he has a 2.6-to-1 ratio. He never leaves the game. Last Saturday he had seven assists and only two turnovers, and he makes good decisions."
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