Demons last team standing in western Racine County, play tonight at 7 at Wilmot High School
By Mike Ramczyk
And Chris Bennett
After each team won on its opponent’s home court during the regular season, the Burlington varsity boys basketball team was looking to make a statement in a WIAA Division 2 regional final Saturday night in Burlington.
The Twittersphere was active with Waterford-Burlington rivalry banter all day Saturday, stemming from the fact that both teams won on buzzer-beating buckets the previous night in their respective regional semifinals.
Though Burlington controlled the last meeting between the two teams, a 65-58 victory at Waterford last month that wasn’t a close game, the Wolverine faithful stood by their team online and were hoping for the momentum upset.
The Demons had other plans, and by halftime, the game was out of reach.
Five Burlington players scored seven or more points, led by Nick Klug’s 19, and the Demons never led by less than double digits in a 68-52 victory.
Burlington (15-9) advances to Thursday’s WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal at Wilmot High School against Fort Atkinson (12-12).
It was the first regional championship for the Demons since 2013.
Waterford finished the season 11-14.
“It was a tough turnaround playing two nights in a row,” Burlington coach Steve Berezowitz said. “We did a pretty good job of taking away a couple guys we needed to take away.”
“We got a little tired and switched up to a zone. Honestly, all we care about is that we get to practice next week. Thursday night is just an icing on the cake. I love the group of guys I get to work with every night after school.”
Luke Geiger added 10 points for the Demons, who connected on five 3-pointers and lived at the foul line, converting 29-for-39.
Burlington opened the season 8-9 but has won seven straight games, with an average margin of victory of 11 points.
Berezowitz said he along with the players have made some key adjustments that have led to the current hot streak, which started with a 54-47 win over Racine St. Catherine’s Feb. 9.
Wolverines go down fighting
The Wolverines beat third-seeded McFarland 57-55 March 4 in a regional semifinal at McFarland to advance and play the second-seeded Demons.
Waterford opened the postseason March 1 at home with a 69-43 victory over 11th-seeded Milton in a regional quarterfinal game.
“I knew from experience it comes down to the last portion of the schedule,” Waterford coach Paul Charapata said. “We had a pretty good vibe going.”
Waterford entered postseason play on a three-game losing streak and quickly won two games before facing the Demons.
Charapata said the Wolverines struggled to make shots and rebound in the postseason matchup between the rivals.
“It was tough,” Charapata said. “They beat us on the backside and they got a lot of rebounds. We got stagnant on offense, trying to find something to get us going.”
Charapata said the Wolverines shot between 26 and 29 percent from the field against the Demons.
“That does not bode well for us,” Charapata said. “Burlington was better that day. They were ready, they were amped-up and they had a great home crowd.”
The Demons outscored the Wolverines by eight points in each half. Burlington outscored Waterford 31-23 in the first half and 37-29 in the second.
Chris Saltzmann led Waterford with 14 points. Will Busch scored 13.
Ross’ runner beats McFarland
Point guard Dyln Ross scored with six seconds left in regulation on a five-foot floater to give the Wolverines the victory at McFarland.
McFarland standout Ben Rounds, who scored a game-high 27 points, took the ball the length of the floor and missed a potential game-tying shot as time expired.
“It was a very good win in a place where it was loud,” Charapata said. “Give McFarland credit for playing tough. That’s what you dream of when you’re playing postseason basketball.”
Waterford led 28-26 at halftime. The Wolverines and Spartans (14-9) played to a 29-29 tie in the second half. Saltzmann led Waterford with 16 points. Ross scored 14 and Matt Korman added 11.
Waterford led Milton (1-22) 30-17 at halftime and outscored the Red Hawks 39-26 in the second half. Ross scored a game-high 16 points. Saltzmann scored 14 and Korman and Ryan Jungbauer each added 13.
Consistency on offense turned into a sticking point this season for Waterford. Charapata, in his first season as coach, said the team played solid defense, but occasionally struggled to score points.
Charapata said one aspect of the Wolverines’ season in which he took pride is their ability to battle and play hard.
“We got a lot of compliments from other teams, saying ‘Your guys played really hard,’” Charapata said. “That’s a good thing.”
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