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"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it" is a famous saying in life, one even perhaps Pointer coach Dan Burreson tells his students in his history classroom.
It was nearly a year ago to the date the Mineral Point boys basketball team saw its undefeated season come to an abrupt end at the hands of Cuba City in the sectional semifinal at Richland Center.
Saturday night, the teams battled in the regional final, where the Pointers again put their unbeaten record on the line.
No doubt the painful memories of last March were on the minds of the Pointers, and for awhile, it looked as if there might be a serious case of deja vu. But, in the end, Mineral Point proved it had studied its history, learned its lessons from last year, and triumphed in the 65-56 WIAA Division 4 Regional Final in Mineral Point.
The start of the game did not go as planned for the Pointers, as the Cubans were hot out of the gate, quickly going up 12-2 on a three pointer from Chris Moor at the 3:21 mark of the first quarter. The Pointers rallied with an 8-2 stretch with points from Joey Gorgen, Turner Poad, Sy Staver, and Tarek Oellerich, but two free throws from Preston Droessler with no time on the clock put the Cubans up 16-10 at the end of one.
The teams went back and forth for the first half of the second period until Mineral Point used a 12-1 burst that featured three pointers from Staver and Alec Schmitz, to go up 33-29 with 2:06 remaining until half. Droessler scored the final four points for Cuba City, including another basket as time expired, to get the visitors within 35-33 at the break. Droessler was a one-man wrecking crew in the first half, tallying 22 of his team's 33 points.
Momentum belonged to the Pointers for the first half of the third quarter, featuring a three each from Gorgen and Poad, and an old-fashioned three point play courtesy of Oellerich, but the Cubans stormed back. They held Mineral Point scoreless over the final 3:28 while compiling a 9-0 run to get within 44-43 of the Pointers with just eight minutes remaining.
The teams exchanged points for the first three minutes of the fourth, but Mineral Point lost a key piece of its offense at the 6:00 mark when Oellerich fouled out. Gorgen answered the call and picked up his offensive game, scoring ten of his team-high 20 in the final eight minutes. Free throws sealed the deal down the stretch. Even though the Pointers didn't score a field goal for the final 3:52, they went seven of nine from the charity stripe.
Droessler led all scorers with 29 points. Benjamin Burkholder joined him in double digits with 11.
The top Pointer was Gorgen with 20 as Staver tossed in 14 and Oellerich chipped in 11.
"I'm so proud of our guys," said Burreson. "We got down early, but we didn't panic. We stayed true to who we are, which says so much about our kids. They really believe in themselves and each other. I couldn't be more proud."
"Once we got ahead, we knew that Cuba would make a run, but we kept playing. We have five guys that can score on the floor at any time. Joey really hit some big shots for us. He keeps working hard all season and he proves hard work pays off."
"Jordan Kittleson had a huge three pointer and a big put back for us. Our free throw shooting as a team tonight was also good, and we've worked on that. Our improvement in that area hasn't come by accident," said the coach.
The Pointers advanced to the sectional semifinal for the second year in a row. They will meet Deerfield Thursday night in Verona with tip off set for 7 pm. The #2 Demons defeated #4 Belleville 64-46 Saturday in their regional final.
The Demons also possess their school's all-time leading scorer, Blake Ehrke, who broke the 49 year old record in their regional final win. The regional title is the school's first since 1988.
Deerfield holds an 18-6 record. They have won their last 11 of 12 games, with their only loss in that stretch coming by just one point. They took third place in the Trailways-South Conference behind Hustisford and Horicon.
Should Mineral Point win Thursday, they would travel to Baraboo for the sectional final, the final game before state, on Saturday at 1:00 pm against the winner of Melrose-Mindoro (18-6) and Pardeeville (13-11). The Pointers are seeking their first state tournament berth since 1974.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
CC: 16-17-10-13--56
MP: 10-25-9-21--65
BOX SCORE
CUBA CITY (fg-ft-tp) 56: Gaines 4-0-8, Burkholder 3-5/6-11, Denlinger 1-0/2-2, P. Droessler 8-11/14-29, Moor 2-0-5, Zimmerman 0-1/3-1. Totals: 18-17/25-56. Fouls: 22. Three pointers: P. Droessler 2, Moor 1.
MINERAL POINT 65: Staver 1-11/12-14, Kittleson 3-0/1-7, Gorgen 6-5/5-20, Oellerich 5-1/1-11, Poad 2-2/4-7, Schmitz 2-1/2-6. Totals: 19-20/25-65. Fouls: 18. Three pointers: Gorgen 3, Kittleson 1, Poad 1, Schmitz 1, Staver 1.