Lions in a Thrilling Sectional Final

On March 14, Lomira boys basketball lost 58-56 to Cambridge in a thrilling Sectional Final overtime game, one step away from their first state appearance since 2000 and ending the Lions’ 17-game winning streak.
Lomira (26-2) sprinted out to an early 8-0 lead over Cambridge (19-9) highlighted by five points from senior point guard on an offensive rebound and a three-pointer after a Blake Steger steal, causing Cambridge to call a timeout with 16:04 in the first half.
Cambridge responded with a 9-0 scoring run after the timeout to take a 9-8 lead before the Lions outscored the Blue Jays 6-2, featuring four points from Jackson Bloohm and a Jake Broeske basket to retake the lead 14-11 with less than ten minutes in the first half.
The Blue Jays scored nine straight points for the next five points to take a 20-14 lead over Lomira, and had the Lions call a timeout with 5:04 remaining on the first half clock.

Broeske blocked a Blue Jays shot to spark a fast break layup from Bloohm, and Duley followed next with a basket in the lane to tighten the game at 20-18 when Cambridge closed out the half on a 10-4 run to take a 30-22 halftime lead over Lomira.
Cambridge scored the first basket in the second half before Keegna Kell hit back-to-back threes and Charlie Cole scored on an offensive play to tighten up the game at 32-30 in favor of the Blue Jays.
Kell scored a basket to tie the game at 32 after a Broeske block, which was followed by a J’Kari Crawford three-pointer from Cambridge to give the Blue Jays a 35-32 lead with 12:45 on the second half clock.
The Lions took a 40-35 lead at the 9:37 mark in the second half thanks to four points apiece from Broekse and Bloohm before Cambridge scored five straight points to tie the game at 40 with 8:15 remaining in the second half.
Broeske scored on a nice spin move in the pass and an offensive rebound finish to give the Lions a 45-40 lead before the Blue Jays scored ten consecutive points featuring Cal Nottesad’s fourth three-pointer of the game to give the Blue Jays a 50-45 lead with two minutes left in regulation.
Lomira got two consecutive baskets from Steger to tighten the game at 50-49 with one minute left, but Cambridge scored to take a 52-49 lead with 43 seconds left.
The Lions missed a three with 35 seconds left, giving the ball back to the Blue Jays and down by three points when Cambridge missed a wide-open layup with 19 seconds left, which was knocked out by a Blue Jay player, giving the ball back to the Lions.
Lomira’s Kell splashed a three-pointer with seven seconds left, tying the game at 52 and causing the large contingent of Lomira fans into a joyous celebration in the stands.
Cambridge was taking the ball in front of their bench with two seconds left in the game, and Crawford got the ball at the top of the key where he made a move to get off a three-pointer, which was blocked by Lomira’s star center Broeske to send the game to overtime tied at 52.
The Blue Jays scored the first four points of overtime, taking a 56-52 lead when Broeske made two free throws and Duley scored a body-twisting, fast-break layup to tie the game up at 56 with 1:45 left in overtime in this back-and-forth sectional final.
Cambridge proceeded to drain the overtime clock until Crawford started to make a move into the lane, and he rose up with a jumper that banked off the left corner of the backdoor glass into the hoop, giving the Blue Jays a 58-56 lead with 3.7 seconds left in the game.
The Lions got the ball down the court, setting up Kell for a game-winning three-pointer attempt from the right wing, but the storybook ending wasn’t meant to be when the ball bounced off the rim, ending Lomira’s special season in the sectional final in a thrilling but heartbreaking 58-56 overtime loss to Cambridge.
Cambridge was led by Crawford’s 19 points, and the Lions were led by Jake Broeske’s 14 points, with Keegan Kell scoring 13 points.
“I am proud of the way we fought in the game by battling back from a ten-point deficit and again from five down with a minute to go,” said Head Coach Nick Kohler. “I could not have asked for a better group of young men to be my first team as a head coach.”
“Our seniors represented the program better than I could have imagined,” said Kohler. “I am incredibly thankful to have been a part of this team and this family forever.”
At Portage Sectional Semifinal
On March 11, Lomira boys basketball defeated Pardeeville 67-54 in the sectional semifinals at Portage High School to advance to the Sectional Final in Verona.
Lomira (26-2) got out to a 7-3 lead over Pardeeville (19-8) thanks to five points from Blake Steger, featuring a three-pointer and a smooth spin finish at the rim.
Hunter Duley’s defense caused a steal for the Lions, which he converted into a basket to give Lomira a 13-12 lead over the Bulldogs.
Jake Broeske scored in the post, and Steger splashed in a three-pointer from the wing to push the Lions’ lead up to 18-13 at the 9:48 mark in the first half.
Pardeeville closed the gap to 18-17 before the Lions went on a feeding frenzy led by their defense over the next six minutes, which was started by a Maddox Bodden three-pointer and was highlighted by a nice pass from Duley to a cutting Steger for a 27-17 lead.
Lomira’s strong play continued with a dunk from Broeske then Jackson Bloohm stole the ball and proceeded to sprint down the court to finish off the play by soaring into the air for a dunk sending the Lomira crowd into a frenzied state giving the Lions a 33-17 causing Pardeeville to call timeout with 2:54 on the first clock to cap off a 15-0 scoring run for the Lomira.
Pardeeville closed the half on an 8-2 run to make the score 35-25 in favor of Lomira at halftime.
Broeske scored two baskets in the paint and blocked a three-point shot to push the Lions to a 39-25 lead before the Bulldogs scored seven consecutive points, causing Lomira to call a timeout at the 14:07 mark in the second half with a 39-32 lead.
Steger proceeded to take over the game in the next portion of the game with a slashing drive for a basket, a fake and go move to the bucket, and went coast-to-coast to score six straight points to increase the Lions’ lead back to 45-33.
Lomira got a nice spin move on the block from Broeske to put the Lions up at 47-38 before Steger and Bloohm combined to score nine points to expand the Lomira lead to 58-43 with 4:31 left in the game.
The Lions’ defense was the difference in the game, it was highlighted by stong-on-the-ball defense from Lomira’s perimeter defenders and featured a charge take by Steger and a block by Broekse in the final minutes to finish Lomira’s 67-54 sectional semifinals victory.
Lomira was powered by Blake Steger’s 29 points, who was unguardable most of the night, and Jake Broeske’s double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Game Summary
Saturday, March 14
Sectional Final
#2 Cambridge 30-22-6 58
#1 Lomira 22-30-4 56
Final/OT
Points: Jake Broeske 14. Keegan Kell 13. Jackson Bloohm 10. Hunter Duley 9. Blake Steger 6. Charlie Cole 4
Rebounds: Broeske 11. Bloohm 6. Cole 4. Kell 4. Steger 3. Duley 3. King 2
Assists: Duley 3. Broeske 3. Steger 3. Cole 2. Bloohm 1. King 1
Steals: Steger 3. Duley 1. Broeske 1. Bloohm 1
Blocks: Broeske 5.
3pt: Kell 3. Duley 1
Wednesday, March 11
Sectional Semifinal
#1 Lomira 67
#3 Pardeeville 54
Final
Points: Blake Steger 29. Jake Broeske 20. Jackson Bloohm 8. Maddox Bodden 7. Hunter Duley 2. Keegan Kell 1
Rebounds: Broeske 13. Bloohm 5. Steger 5. Duley 3
Assists: Duley 4. Steger 4. Bloohm 4 Kell 2
Steals: Steger 2
Blocks: Broeske 2
3pt: Steger 2. Bodden 1
Season Individual Stats
Points: Jake Broeske 532. Blake Steger 312. Keegan Kell 297. Charlie Cole 212. Jackson Bloohm 149. Hunter Duley 133. Cooper King 128. Maddox Bodden 128. Mason Schelvan 70. Cameron Ryan 26. Hunter Schaumberg 21. Kincade Todl 19. Dawson Casper 9. Levi Zedler 6. Cole Geiger 1
Rebounds: Broeske 266. Steger 131. Duley 82. Bloohm 79. Cole 69. Kell 64. King 57. Schelvan 53. Bodden 31. Schaumburg 17. Todl 14. Ryan 12. Geiger 6. Zedler 4. Casper 2
Assists: Duley 113. Cole 83. Steger 65. Broeske 49. Bloohm 47. Bodden 45. King 37. Todl 16.
Steals: Duley 50. Steger 33. Bloohm 32. Cole 28. Kell 27. Broeske 26. Bodden 20
Blocks: Broeske 40. Bloohm 17. Steger 10
3pt: Kell 60. Cole 42. King 27. Duley 17. Bodden 14. Broeske 11. Steger 6. Ryan 6. Todl 5. Bloohm 4. Schaumberg 2. Ryan 2. Casper 1. Schelvan 1