Blue Dukes Advance to State With Overtime Victory

After watching Wisconsin Lutheran turn a 16-point deficit into a three-point lead in overtime, senior center Jamie Schneck admitted to having a bit of a flashback to 2010 when Whitefish Bay suffered a 17-point defeat to Catholic Memorial in the sectional final.

And there was very little Schneck could do about it, since he had fouled out earlier in the overtime period.

But in the end, his teammates had his back.

Senior forward Ron Patten hit a driving, twisting shot in the lane with 25 seconds left to lead to a 51-50 overtime victory over Wisconsin Lutheran in the WIAA Division 2 Sectional Final Saturday afternoon at Marquette University's Al McGuire.

“We didn’t want to go out like that again,” Schneck said.  “What we wanted was to get one more game.”

But first, the Blue Dukes had to get one more stop. Terry Nash, who had sparked the Vikings second-half comeback, had the ball and was looking for the final shot. Unable to get a clear opening, Wisconsin Lutheran called a timeout with 4.7 seconds left. With time running out after the inbounds pass, senior guard Joshua Lindner got off a shot from beyond the three-point arc, but the ball bounced off the rim and the celebration was on.

This victory put the Blue Dukes in the state tournament for the first time since 1998, and was anything but easy. Whitefish Bay saw a big lead evaporate in the third period.

“We’ve been in situations like that this year when we’ve had big leads and let them dwindle down,” Whitefish Bay coach Kevin Lazovik said. “We’ve been able to bounce back. We had a similar situation against Marquette and we were able to respond that time."

With a state tournament berth on the line, the Blue Dukes needed a big game from Patten, and he gave it to them. He finished with 32 points, including 12 points on four 3-point baskets.

“I was pretty calm out there,” Patten said. “In situations like this, your best player, or one of your best players, has to step up and not get scared and play the game.”

With his team down by three in overtime, he missed a jumper. But he followed his shot, forced a foul and hit two free throws to cut the deficit to one with 55.6 seconds left. On the next possession, Kelin Johnson  intentionally fouled Joshua Lindner, who missed both free throws with 45.9 seconds left. That left an opening for Patten. And he made the most of it.

"To be honest with you, words can’t explain how I feel right now,” Patten said afterward.  “It's a totally different feelng from last year, this is the greatest feeling. I just feel so great right now.”

The first half had a totally different feel  for the Blue Dukes.  They outscored the Vikings 16-8 in the second quarter, and held a 29-13 halftime lead.

It would have been an agonizing defeat. But in the end, the Blue Dukes hung tough.

“They never quit, they’ve been like that all year,” Lazovik said. “We’ve had our rough patches this year and they kept believing. That’s what got us here.”