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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – Auburndale was a mainstay at the WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament during the 1990s and early 2000s, qualifying eight times during a 14-year stretch from 1991-2004.
Since then, the Apaches have hit a dry spell. The 2012-13 team can change that this weekend as it heads into the Division 4 sectionals.
The Apaches (23-1) take on Hurley (14-10) in a Division 4 sectional semifinal Thursday at Wausau East High School with the winner moving on to the sectional championship game Saturday at 1 p.m. at the University of Wisconsin-Stout in Menomonie against either Unity (16-8) or Colfax (19-5).
Auburndale suffered its only loss to Stratford on Feb. 11, 46-40 in overtime, but has since rallied with four straight wins, three by 24 points or more.
The Apaches avenged the loss to Stratford by rolling to a 26-point win in the regional semifinals, and the last win came with a 51-46 victory over Marathon in a regional final last Saturday. Marathon finished the season 19-5, with three losses coming at the hands of Auburndale.
Auburndale will be taking on an opponent outside of the Marawood Conference for the first time in the playoffs when it faces Hurley.
“Teams know each other so well and beating a team for a third time, a good team like Marathon, that’s a tough deal,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “We’re looking forward to playing a team outside of our conference.”
Hurley brings a run-and-gun offense to the table with a pair of high-scoring guards in Jake Colassaco and Cole Kivisto. Colassaco averages more than 20 points a game and scored 40 in a regional final victory over Abbotsford.
Junior point guard Isaac Castellano said the key to beating the Midgets is to slow down the guards.
“It’s stopping the ball,” Castellano said. “Instead of having them on a full head of steam coming down the court, it will be get in front of them and slowing them down so our big guys can get back. Instead of just run-and-gun, they’ll have to slow it down and they’ll get antsy, I’m guessing.”
Auburndale’s leading scorer, 6-foot-3 senior Austin Hawkins, said the Apaches have been working hard on a scheme to keep Hurley from running away from them.
“They play at a really fast pace and like to get the ball up and down the floor,” Hawkins said. “We’ve played a couple of teams like that this year and kind of know what to expect. We’ve been working on a lot of transition drills in practice and working on that kind of stuff.
“It’s a matter of playing defense, taking away what they want to do and making them uncomfortable.”
After Hawkins, the Apaches have used a balanced scoring approach all season with senior Ben Bolder scoring underneath, and lately junior guard Blake Anderson lighting things up from outside.
Anderson was 0-for-9 from the field in a win over Baraboo on Feb. 5, but since has put up games of 15 points against Stratford and 21 against Marathon in the playoffs, hitting a combined seven 3-pointers in the two victories.
“It’s really nice to have that second scorer behind Austin because teams pay so much attention to him now,” Weinfurter said. “I think Ben’s done a great job on the opposite post – he’s had several games in double figures lately, too. I think our balanced scoring has helped us a lot as teams have clamped down on Austin, and I think Austin has done a nice job not forcing stuff.
“Blake’s development has been really nice – not unexpected, you were hoping it would happen, and I’m glad it did.”
Playing smart will be the key for Auburndale on Thursday, Weinfurter said.
“We want to make sure we take good shots and take care of the ball,” Weinfurter said. “Most teams that want to run feed off turnovers. If you take bad shots and quick shots, your guys aren’t ready and you won’t get back on defense. So, we just have to take good shots and take care of the basketball.”
WIAA Division 4 Sectionals
Sectional 1
Semifinals
Thursday, Feb. 28
Auburndale (23-1) vs. Hurley (14-10) at Wausau East, 7 p.m.
Unity (16-8) vs. Colfax (19-5) at Osceola, 7 p.m.
Championship
Saturday, March 2
At UW-Stout, Menomonie, 1 p.m.
Sectional notes: Auburndale won state titles in 1993 and 2000, and finished as state runner-ups in 1995 and 2003…Hurley has not been to the state tournament since it went four times in a seven-year stretch from 1943-1949. The Midgets captured the state crown in 1949…Colfax won the sectional last year before losing in the Division 4 state semifinals to eventual state champ Whitefish Bay Dominican. It had only had two state appearances before then, in 1933 and 1978. The Vikings finished tied for second in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference, four games behind Elk Mound. Colfax beat Elk Mound in the regional finals…Unity has never qualified for a state tournament.