Fox Valley Lutheran boys basketball outlasts Mosinee to claim WIAA Division 2 regional title

By Dustin Riese
For AppletonSportsPage.com

APPLETON – Battle tested should be the phrase used when it comes to the Fox Valley Lutheran boys basketball team as it took on the Mosinee Indians Saturday with a trip to sectionals on the line.

Coming off a grueling North Eastern Conference schedule that saw the Foxes run the table to claim their third straight league title, No. 2 seed FVL was put to the test Friday as they escaped seventh-seeded La Crosse Central in overtime.

Things didn’t get any easier for the Foxes on Saturday as Mosinee came in with a ton of confidence and high-powered offense. Fox Valley Lutheran was able to use a big run to start the second half and finished off a 76-61 victory in the WIAA Division 2 regional final at Fox Valley Lutheran High School.

The game was tied 30-30 after a hard-fought first half before the Foxes opened up the second half on a 27-13 to create some distance before pulling away.

“It took us a little while to settle in tonight as we had to weather some first-half foul trouble,” FVL coach Jay Wendland said. “We talked about some adjustments we needed to make at the break and we came out and made those adjustments. I credit these kids for battling through adversity tonight and finding a way to get the job done.”

Right from the start, Mosinee brought energy as Treve Stoffel and Landen Thomer helped the Indians race out to a 6-3 lead. Sam Ferge kept things close scoring the first five points for the Foxes, but it was the Adam Loberger show that set the tone.

Leading 7-6, FVL’s Loberger went on to score eight straight and 11 of his team’s next 14 points to put the Foxes up 21-14. Frege added the other three during that run as Loberger finished the game with 28 points, while Ferge chipped in with 19.

FVL continued to create some separation with Trenton Heyn going inside for four points of his own before a Lucas Papendorf triple gave the Foxes a commanding 28-16 lead. That was when the Indians used a big run of their own as they not only closed the gap in a hurry, but managed to pull even 30-30 with a 12-2 run to end the half. Keagen Jirschele played a massive role in that as he led the way for the Indians with 22 points, including six in the run. Cole Kowalski and Garrett Shupe added the rest of those points to pull the Indians even.

Expecting a highly-competitive second half, Loberger picked up right where he left off as he opened the half with four quick points to put the Foxes on top. Ferge did the same with four straight after that and the Foxes continued to hold an early 38-32 lead. They would never trail from that point on as their defense led to offense and kept the Indians off balance most of the second half. 

Although the Ferge and Loberger duo set the tone most of the night, Liam Heiges came up huge in the second as he scored 10 of his 12 points. That alone helped the Foxes build an early double-digit lead, but with Kowalski’s 3-pointer pulled Mosinee to within 47-40 and the Indians refused to go away.

All it took was a 10-3 run, sparked by Loberger and Heiges to put the Foxes back up 57-43 as Mosinee was in danger of letting this one get away. Wendland talked about some of the adjustments his team made after letting up late in the first half.

“We had some turnover issues late in the first half which helped them pull even at the break,” he said. “We also had some offensive rebounding issues. Those were the points of emphasis that we discussed at the half. Thomer being in foul trouble made things easier on the boards for us, but we still found ways to get on a body to limit their second chance looks.”

At some point, you knew the Indians would find a way to battle back and Jirschele was a big reason why. His ability to stretch the defense out to the perimeter and then use his quickness to get to the hole created tons of issues for the Foxes as Mosinee remained within striking distance. That is why having such a valuable trio is crucial at this level as the trio of Loberger, Heiges and Ferge wouldn’t let the Indians get any closer as they continued to take their best shots while extending the lead to 70-57.

“We play in a very competitive league, and you can see that by having quite a few teams still playing tonight,” Wendland said. “The body of work that you need to go through during that conference season helps prepare us for the playoffs. We see a lot of different defensive looks that we need to adjust to and those are the situations that help us battle through the adversity we face this late in the season.”

In desperate need of some late game offense, Thomer and Jirschele took it upon themselves to provide that offense as they scored the final eight points for Mosinee. The only problem was time wasn’t on their side as Heiges and Loberger iced the game from the free throw line to cap off the 76-61 victory. With the win, the Foxes (24-2) claim the regional title and will face top-seeded West Salem (23-3) on Thursday at Wisconsin Rapids. The Tigers took down New London 75-63 and Wendland knows his team will be in for a real test.

“West Salem is an extremely gifted offensive team and they will be tough,” he said. “They shoot the ball so well and they extend defenses out because of the range of their shooters. They have tons of athletes that know how to attack the rim. As a defense, we need to be able to close down the gaps and hope some of their guys have an off night.”

Foxes 76, Indians 61
Mosinee   30   31   –   61
Fox Valley Lutheran   30   46   –   76
MOSINEE (61): Aidan Shaughnessy 2 0-0 6, Cole Kowalski 4 3-4 13, Keagen Jirschele 7 7-8 22, Andrew Carlson 0 0-0 0, Carson Bolgard 0 0-0 0, Sebastian Andersen 0 0-0 0, Garrett Shupe 2 0-0 4, Gavin Chmiel 0 0-0 0, Treve Stoffel 2 0-0 4, Mitchell Michlig 0 0-0 0, David Harkin 0 0-0 0, Landen Thomer 5 0-0 12, Trent Gorski 0 0-0 0. FG: 22. FT: 10-12. 3-pointers: 7 (Shaughnessy 2, Kowalski 2, Thomer 2, Jirschele 1). Record: 21-5.
FOX VALLEY LUTHERAN (76): Adam Loberger 10 7-7 28, Sam Ferge 8 2-4 19, Liam Heiges 5 1-8 12, Lucas Papendorf 2 3-5 8, Graham Feidt 2 0-0 5, Trenton Heyn 2 0-0 4, Elijah Last 0 0-0 0, Gabe Heiges 0 0-0 0. FG: 29. FT: 13-24. 3-pointers: 5 (Ferge 1, Feidt 1, Papendorf 1, Loberger 1, L. Heiges 1). Record: 24-2.