Abby eliminated by Wildcats in overtime thriller
By Nathaniel Underwood
The 10th-seeded Abbotsford boys basketball team was able to rally to force overtime in their first round playoff matchup of the WIAA Division 4 postseason against seventh-seeded Edgar but could not match the Wildcats in the extra period, falling 83-79. The loss eliminated the Falcons from playoff contention and brought their final record to 9-16. They went 3-13 in Marawood conference play and took fifth in the Marawood-North.
While Abbotsford shot an impressive 50 percent from the field and drained 10 three-point shots in their season finale, the Wildcats brought their own impressive shooting to the table. Edgar made 49.1 percent of their field goals shot even better from long range, going 15-for-27 from beyond the three-point line. This allowed the Wildcats to barely oust the Falcons in a game that was far more competitive than when the two squads had faced off in the regular season.
In their first meeting at the end of January, Edgar was able to pull away in the second half to cruise to a 26-point victory. The Wildcats dominated in the paint, outrebounding Abbotsford 47-28 and scoring 50 points in the paint to the Falcons’ 22.
Things were not so lopsided during last Tuesday’s playoff game. In fact, Abbotsford ended up holding a statistical advantage in both categories, securing slightly more rebounds with 32 to Edgar’s 30 and racking up 38 points in the paint compared to the Wildcats’ 26.
This allowed the Falcons to hold a slight advantage in the early going. While a three-point play for Edgar allowed them to take a narrow 19-18 advantage, Grayson Totzke provided an immediate answer for the Falcons on the opposite end, driving along the baseline before finishing through contact beneath the basket to put the Falcons back on top. On the very next possession, Totzke blew by the Wildcats’ defense to score in the lane again. A three from Koren Decker gave the Falcons points on three straight possessions and a sixpoint lead.
The Wildcats battled back, but a three-point play from Totzke followed by three straight points courtesy of AJ Brodhagen had the Falcons take a 34-25 advantage, their largest lead of the contest.
Unfortunately for the visitors, Edgar began to find some flow on offense. The Wildcats scored on five consecutive trips down the court, going on a 15-2 run and retaking a four-point lead. The Falcons managed to get it down to one by halftime, but the advantage that they had built over much of the period had completely vanished in its final minutes.
Decker sank a three to start the scoring for the Falcons in the second period, tying the game at 4343 and the junior followed it up with a layup two possessions later to return the lead to Abbotsford. A basket from Irvin Aguilera gave the Falcons seven straight points and they managed to hold a slight advantage over their opponents for the next few minutes of play. However, a lightning-fast 10-0 run for Edgar quickly shifted the momentum back in the home team’s favor.
While the Wildcats led for the rest of the half, they could never distance themselves from the Falcons, only ever holding a twopossession advantage at best. Five straight points for Totzke managed to knot the game at 7373 and after a number of empty possessions for both teams, the game appeared destined for overtime. There was a brief moment where it seemed like the Abbotsford senior may have won the game for Falcons after banking in a lengthy three with mere seconds left on the clock, but a timeout from the visitors in hopes of setting up for a better shot came in before the ball left Totzke’s hands.
Back-to-back threes for the Wildcats opened the scoring in overtime. Jack Sheahan managed a pair of baskets for Abbotsford, but the Falcons could not bridge the gap and ultimately fell 83-79.
Totzke had his second straight 30-point game for the Falcons, putting up 32 points while collecting 11 rebounds in an impressive double-double performance in his final game as a Falcon. The senior also had three assists in the loss.
Brodhagen was the Falcons’ second leading scorer, going 5for-9 from the field and scoring 13 points. He added seven rebounds and three assists as well. Sheahan and Christian Fuentes both had eight points for Abbotsford, with the latter grabbing five rebounds, three assists and a team-high four steals. Miguel Bautista and Payton Schrieber both had three points and Aguilera finished with two points, six assists and three steals.
