The Wauwatosa West Trojans took on Milwaukee Messmer at home on Friday. It was a close one to the end in the second round of the WIAA playoffs with Tosa falling to Milwaukee 60-53.
Both offenses started off hot, making it a back and forth scoring battle throughout the first quarter. Trojans were red hot from behind the three point line, starting off the threes from seniors Reggie Cason, Blake Harvey, and junior Rashaad Moore. But Messmer didn’t let up, using a slashing offense to get into the paint and score at the basket. It was an even matchup, with the first quarter ending 16-16.
As the second quarter started, the Trojans remained hot from the perimeter, with contribution from Cason and Moore once again. West didn’t just score outside the three point line. They cut to the basket like a hot knife through butter, with great layups from junior Andre Carroll and an incredibly acrobatic shot from junior Zach Veit. Messmer, however, was not going to quit without a fight. They played tough defense, and continued to drive to the hoop to score their points. The half was closed out by junior Steffan Brown drilling a three from long range to bring the trojans to within one point of Messmer. Both teams went to the locker room with the score 34-33 Messmer on top.
Going into the half with the momentum Tosa had, one can only imagine a superb second half from them. The three point line was on fire for west, and they didn’t have too much of a problem getting to the basket either. Messmer’s offense and defense were also keeping the competition tight.
The second half began with the same intense play from both teams. The strength in this 3rd quarter for Tosa and Milwaukee, however, was defense. The defensive play was a tight, smash mouth version of basketball. Each team barely allowing the other to breath. A lot of scoring this quarter came from the line for West with two free throws from Moore and Carroll. The third quarter ended in a 45-40 West lead.
West did not seem to have faltered from their excellent play from the first half all throughout the third quarter. Messmer was having a hard time keeping up with Tosa’s offense at the end of the third.
When the fourth quarter started, Milwaukee Messmer seemed to have found a fire within themselves, hitting a couple of three’s from junior guard Avery Smith and Deonte Newsome. This gave Messmer the lead, and they began to be stingy with the ball. By not shooting the ball, but rather passing it amongst each other, they forced west to foul them and send them to the free throw line. Forward Jonathan Carson for Milwaukee made most of his free throws when he was sent to the line, boosting the lead. Tosa Freshman Alou Dillon drilled a three, which brought some life back to West, but it was too little too late.
The fourth quarter ended in a Messmer win, the score 60-53. Though this was a disappointing loss for Wauwatosa, their season was an overall success with 13 wins and 10 losses overall and 11 wins and 5 losses in the conference.
On behalf of Wauwatosa West, we would like to thank seniors Reggie Cason, Cole Harvey, and Blake Harvey for their outstanding performances this year. A lot of success rode on the backs of these senior leaders, giving the freshman someone to look up to, and providing great leadership to their team. Good luck to them in their future endeavours.
