The 2014-15 SPASH boys basketball team, front row, from left: Joey Hauser, Andrew Ruzek, Jamison Kryshak, Ted Kearney, Trev Anderson and head coach Scott Anderson. Back row: Assistant coach Bruce Weinkauf, athletic trainer Linda Haller, assistant coach Brandon DeSmet, assistant coach Dave Hauser, Keon’te Williams, Jake Erler, Evan Mallek, Jake Hofmeister, Mack Journell, assistant coach Travis Kornowski, TJ Schrank, Sam Hauser, Beau Rosenthal, assistant coach Jon Krull and assistant coach Kraig Terpstra. (Mike Kemmeter photo)

Portage County Gazette

This story is a reprint from the March 27, 2015, edition of The Portage County Gazette

By Mike Kemmeter

Special to The Gazette

The Stevens Point Area Senior High School (SPASH) boys basketball team left no doubt that it’s the best Division 1 team in the state this season.

The Panthers (27-1) dominated three-time defending State Champion Germantown (27-1) 67-51 Saturday, March 21, to win the WIAA Division 1 State Title at the Kohl Center in Madison, in the 100th Anniversary of the Boys Basketball State Tournament.

It was the program’s first State Title in 21 years and fourth overall, joining the teams from 1926, 1954 and 1994.

“I was glad we got to play them,” said SPASH boys basketball head coach Scott Anderson of Germantown. “You welcome that as a competitor. They’re the team.

“When we were ranked No. 1 earlier in the year, I didn’t feel it was right,” he said. “I thought that they were the three-time defending champions, and somebody has to beat them to take that from them.”

After setting a WIAA Division 1 State Tournament record with 11 three-pointers in a 63-39 win over West Allis Central (14-13) in the State Semifinals the previous night, SPASH got off to a scorching start in the State Championship Game Saturday, behind the play of 6-6 junior forward Sam Hauser.

Hauser, an NCAA Division 1 recruit who is ranked No. 1 in WisSports.net’s Class of 2016 rankings, scored all 16 of his team’s points in the first quarter, and the Panthers never trailed the rest of the way.

“I think that hoop looked like the ocean (for Hauser) in that first quarter,” said coach Anderson. “He jump-started us.”

Hauser hit three of his four three-pointers in the final 2:01 of the quarter, to give the Panthers a 16-12 lead heading into the second quarter.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” said Hauser. “It was unbelievable.”

Junior 6-2 point guard Trev Anderson, an NCAA Division 1 recruit who is ranked No. 2 in WisSports.net’s Class of 2016 rankings, took over at the beginning of the second quarter, as he knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored eight unanswered points in just over two minutes to give SPASH a 24-12 lead with 5:59 left in the second quarter.

He then added a layup later on to finish the quarter with 10 points, as the Panthers carried a 30-22 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, Germantown closed to within 32-26 with 5:23 remaining on consecutive baskets by senior 6-1 forward Kyle Theis and 6-0 junior point guard Juwan McCloud, an NCAA Division 1 recruit who is ranked No. 3 in WisSports.net’s Class of 2016 rankings.

SPASH answered with a basket by Anderson and a jumper by 6-6 freshman forward Joey Hauser, the No. 1-ranked player in WisSports.net’s Class of 2018 rankings, to extend the lead to 10 at 36-26.

Germantown never got closer than eight points the rest of the quarter, and SPASH took control late in the third and in the opening minute of the fourth quarter with a 9-2 run that gave the Panthers a 50-34 advantage with 7:08 to go.

“We just kept playing, and that’s our deal,” coach Anderson said. “That’s how we practice, that’s how we play, and the guys buy into it, and they believe in it.

“If you’re going to be sitting in this spot, a little run in the middle of the third quarter can’t dismantle you, or take you out of your deal, and it won’t happen with these guys,” he said. “They’re too tough mentally and physically.”

SPASH’s lead grew to as many as 21 points late in the game, and with the State Title clinched, the starters got to watch from the bench for about the final 1:30 and celebrate the team’s 67-51 victory.

Jake Erler, Jamison Kryshak, TJ Schrank, Sam Hauser, Ted Kearney, Beau Rosenthal and Trev Anderson hold up the 2015 WIAA Division 1 State Championship Trophy at the Kohl Center in Madison March 21, 2015. (Mike Kemmeter photo)

Sam Hauser and Anderson finished with 25 points each, while Sam Hauser led the team with 10 rebounds to help give the Panthers a 31-21 advantage on the boards.

Senior 6-6 center Andrew Ruzek grabbed seven rebounds and scored four points, while Joey Hauser added six points and six rebounds for the Panthers.

McCloud was the only Germantown player in double figures with 10 points, but he shot just 7-for-21 from the field and 1-of-9 from three-point range. Theis and 6-6 junior forward Maxwell Keefe each added nine points.

“We definitely were exposed,” said Germantown boys basketball head coach Steve Showalter. “They took advantage of our weaknesses and we weren’t able to get anything going, things that we do on either end.

“That team out there showed the state that they’re really good,” he said. “I don’t care what anybody says about the smaller schools, that team is the best team in the state, easily. And they proved it.”

Overall, the Warhawks shot 38 percent from the floor (21-of-55), while SPASH was 58 percent from the field (23-of-40).

“Coach always talks about how our defense sparks our offense,” said Trev Anderson. “When we’re really locked in on ‘D,’ it really triggers our offense, gives everyone confidence. Our shots are falling down more when our defense is on lockdown.”

Coach Anderson said the Panthers put a big emphasis on the defensive end of the court every day in practice.

“We work hard at defense,” he said. “It’s important to be able to guard, and our kids can guard, and we can guard at all five spots. I think they do it as a team as well.”

With the win, SPASH joined its 1994 team and Oshkosh West (2006 and 2007) as the only teams not from the Milwaukee area, Madison or Racine to win the WIAA Division 1 State Title in boys basketball over the last 27 years.

“We take some pride in the fact that these kids are all Stevens Point kids,” said coach Anderson. “In today’s day and age, with a lot of movement, these kids have been together, and went through elementary school together.

“That’s something they talk about,” he said. “It’s kind of a neat thing.”