If it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, nobody told the Menomonie Mustangs.
The Mustangs overcame a 10-point halftime deficit to New Richmond to take the lead for good with just under five minutes remaining, and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 28 seconds to defeat the Tigers for the third time this season, 83-77, in a Division 2, Section 1 semifinal Thursday night in Hudson.
The win sends the third-seeded Mustangs (19-8) to the sectional final against the No. 4 seed from the other side of the bracket, West Salem (23-4) Saturday at 1 p.m. in Arcadia, while fourth-seeded New Richmond’s season ends in the sectional semifinal for the second straight season with a record of 16-10.
The Tigers hit their first five three-points attempts of the game and took a 20-18 lead in a back-and-forth first half on a three-pointer by McCoy Monson at the ten minute mark. Back-to-back threes by Isaac Schwartz and free throws by Andrew Gretzlock and Ben Salmon gave the Tigers an 8-0 run to close the half with a 40-30 lead.
The New Richmond lead was five, 46-41, four minutes into the second half before the Mustangs tied it 57-57 on a three-pointer with 7:21 remaining.
The lead changed hands six times in the two minutes and change, with two Dane Lease free throws putting the Tigers up 59-57 with just under seven minutes left, a layup by Braxton Landa making it 61-60 in favor of the Tigers with 6:17 remaining, and a three-pointer by Carter Komro giving New Richmond a 64-62 lead at the five minute mark.
The Mustangs answered Komro’s three-pointer with a three of their own to take the lead for good and start a 7-0 run that widened the gap to 72-65 before Nick Stellrecht stopped the bleeding for the Cardinals with three minutes on the clock.
The Tigers were able to get within four twice, 73-68 on a Monson drive with 1:16 remaining, and 75-71 on a strong inside move by Stellrecht with just under a minute remaining. But the Mustangs went over the top of the Tiger press following Stellrecht’s basket for a layup at the other end to push the lead back to six, and hit all six of their free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.
Stellrecht scored four points in the final 11 seconds for the Tigers to finish with a team-high 22 points.
Menomonie won both of its Big Rivers Conference games against New Richmond this season, beating the Tigers 77-64 Jan. 9 in Menomonie and 75-57 Feb. 13 in New Richmond.
In a Division 3, Section 1 semifinal Thursday night in Somerset, Tanner Grinnel’s put-back at the buzzer lifted top-seeded St. Croix Central to a 65-63 victory over No. 3 Osceola. It was the third meeting of the season between the Panthers and Chieftains after splitting their two games in Middle Border Conference play.
St. Croix Central, now 18-9, will face the No. 2 seed on the other side of the bracket, Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau (23-4), in the sectional title game Saturday at 5 p.m. at Eau Claire North High School.
