Pointers edge Dodgers 60-59 in WIAA Regional semi-final game

By John Dalton

Mineral Point’s Drew Aschliman made a successful three-point shot with 22 seconds remaining, giving the Pointers a one-point advantage. With 13.3 seconds on the clock, Dodger Bryce Crubaugh-Lockard drove to the basket but missed the attempt. He managed to tip his own rebound toward the hoop; however, after bouncing twice on the rim, the shot did not fall. Consequently, the Dodgers' season concluded with a narrow 60-59 loss to the Pointers.

The Pointers established an early commanding lead, initiating the game with a 16-3 run. Aiden Patterson opened the scoring with a three-point field goal, followed by two additional three-pointers and a layup off a steal by Aschliman, Keaton Dempsey also contributed to the scoring surge.

The Dodgers remained calm, focusing on each possession throughout the game. Jayce Halverson played a key role in the first half, sinking four three-pointers to keep the Dodgers competitive. Crubaugh-Lockard knocked down a three, narrowing Mineral Point's lead to 23-17, while Halverson followed up with another, bringing the score to 23-20. Mineral Point added a free throw, but Halverson responded once again with a three-pointer, putting the Dodgers ahead, 24-23.  

Brett Bossert’s basket gave Mineral Point a 26-23 lead, but on the next possession, Halverson banked in a long three-pointer to tie it at 26. The Dodgers never took the lead in the first half, but thanks to Blake Stodola’s drive along the baseline, they trailed by just one point at halftime, with the Pointers up 31-30.  

Similar to the first half, Mineral Point started the second half on a 10-2 run to increase their lead to 41-32, thanks in part to buckets by Patterson, Bossert, and Aschliman.  

Back came the Dodgers.  Jentry Olson made a 3-point basket which was followed by a bucket by Crubaugh-Lockard off an in-bound pass from Elliot Hesseling.  The teams exchanged baskets and with under eight minutes to play, Halverson hit his fifth 3-point shot, cutting into the Pointer lead 49-47.  The Dodgers took their first lead of the game after Crubaugh-Lockard canned a corner 3-point shot, 53-52.

The game intensified as time became a significant factor and the large crowd grew increasingly engaged. Point regained the lead when Aschliman's shot attempt was unsuccessful; however, Dempsey secured the offensive rebound and scored, putting the Pointers ahead 54-53. On the subsequent possession, Halverson missed his attempt, but Crubaugh-Lockard collected the rebound and converted, giving Dodgeville a 55-54 advantage.

With under four minutes left, Aschliman drove it to hoop and was fouled, and his old-fashion 3-point play put the Pointers back on top 57-55.  With under three minutes to play, the Dodgers didn’t score a basket, but they did hit four free throws to regain the lead 59-57.

With 22 seconds remaining, Aschliman, who has made numerous crucial shots during his tenure at Mineral Point, delivered once more with a decisive three-pointer that gave the Pointers a 60-59 lead. After a Dodgeville timeout, the Dodgers entrusted the ball to Crubaugh-Lockard with 13.3 seconds left. He drove toward the basket but was unable to score, resulting in a narrow victory for the Pointers in a highly competitive high school basketball game, which concluded the Dodgers' season.  

“These are the games I remember growing up with, Dodgeville vs Mineral Point, packed gym, what a high school atmosphere, both teams putting everything out there on the floor, and obviously it came down to a couple plays at the end of the game,” said Mineral Point Head Coach Bret McGraw following the game.  

“Drew Aschliman did what he seems to do in those crunch moments.  He just has a knack to get those shots off, and it might look a little unconventional, but he just kind of knows its going to go in, and when he shot it, I kind of thought it was going to go in,” said McGraw.  

“I’m so proud of our guys for hanging in there when there’s a game with a lot of runs and it’s really easy with the atmosphere and when the lights are on, it’s easy to break apart and I’m really proud of our guys staying together,” McGraw added.

For Dodger Head Coach Matt McGraw, it was a hard pill to swallow.  “Unfortunately, one teams got to go home not very happy and one team gets to go home happy.  To be part of these high-intensity games, that’s what we hope for as coaches, and I couldn’t be prouder of my guys.  They battled, they went down early, they responded and kept chipping away and put us in position and that’s all you can ask for especially when you go down early, to be able to battle back, to keep executing.”

“It hurts, every time a season ends it hurts, but it was a heck of a game,” he said.  

Aschliman led Mineral Point in scoring with 26 points while Dempsy added 21.  Crubaugh-Lockard led the Dodgers with 21 while Halverson had 20.  The Dodgers finish their year with a 16-10 overall record and shared the SWC Championship with Lancaster and Platteville at 7-3.

Mineral Point hosted Lancaster Saturday night in the regional final game.  For video highlights of this exciting Dodgeville vs Mineral Point game, check out The Dodgeville Chronicle’s Facebook page.  

Box Score

Mineral Point 31 – 29 – 60

Dodgeville     30 – 29 – 59

Mineral Point (fg-ft-tp); Drew Aschliman 9-5-26, Keaton Dempsey 7-7-21, Aiden Patterson 2-0-5, Brett Bossert 2-1-5, Thorin Vamstad 1-0-3.

3-pointers; Aschliman 3, Vamstad 1, Patterson 1.  

Dodgeville (fg-ft-tp); Bryce Crubaugh-Lockard 8-3-21, Jayce Halverson 7-1-20, Jentry Olson 1-5-8, Elliot Hesseling 2-0-4, Andrew Hesseling 1-2-4, Blake Stodola 1-0-2.

3-pointers; Halverson 5, Crubaugh-Lockard 2, Olson 1