Central advances to state title match

Ben Heiligenthal (from left), Aaron Rueber, Cole Pankau and Frank Koehnke celebrate as the clock hits zeroes Friday morning at the Kohl Center in Madison. Catholic Central beat Barneveld, 37-35, to advance to a WIAA Division 5 state championship game Saturday morning at 11 a.m. (Rick Benavides/Southern Lakes Newspapers)
Ben Heiligenthal (from left), Aaron Rueber, Cole Pankau and Frank Koehnke celebrate as the clock hits zeroes Friday morning at the Kohl Center in Madison. Catholic Central beat Barneveld, 37-35, to advance to a WIAA Division 5 state championship game Saturday morning at 11 a.m. (Rick Benavides/Southern Lakes Newspapers)

By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer

With a minute left in a WIAA Division 5 semifinal game and Catholic Central in a 35-35 stalemate against Barneveld, Hilltoppers 6-foot-4 senior Ben Heiligenthal drew a foul, and converted one of his two free throws.

Heiligenthal’s free throw became the inevitable game-winner, helping Burlington Catholic Central to a 37-35 victory, and moved on to the state championship against McDonnel Central.

The 6-4 senior, who scored a game-high 11 points and collected seven boards, said the feeling is indescribable.

“Playing in the Kohl Center in a tournament like this, it has always been a dream since I was a freshman playing basketball and to make it here with these group of guys,” Heiligenthal said.

Sophomore Frank Koehnke, who notched 10 points and had seven boards, added another free throw with less than 10 seconds left when he drew a Lucas Evans’ foul.

The 6-1 guard/forward said the Kohl Center did not faze him when he made one of two free throws, stating he thrives under pressure.

“I am used to pressure like that, I love pressure,” said Koehnke, who went 2-for-4 from the charity stripe in the game. “It makes you work harder.”

The Hilltoppers, who improved to 14-9, won its sixth straight game, dating back to an 88-32 regular season drubbing of University Lake School.

Catholic Central’s semifinal edge came despite trailing for more than 11 minutes in the first half, but courtesy of an 11-0 run, the Hilltoppers entered halftime with a 17-10 lead.

Senior 6-4 forward Ben Heiligenthal, who scored a game-high 11 points, and 6-3 junior Cole Pankau each chipped in six points in the first half, which included a Pankau bucket to knot the game up 10-10.

Following a Koehnke go-ahead bucket, Catholic Central widened its lead to seven with baskets from 5-9 junior Aaron Rueber, who had seven points, Pankau and a senior Andrew Kempken free throw.

Catholic Central, who held the lead for 11:35 in the second half, allowed it to diminish until the 2:10 mark when Evans of Barneveld tied the game 35-35 on a basket inside the paint.

“I thought we picked up the pace a little bit to get us back in the game, we had some kids that stepped up off the bench and really gave us some good minutes out there,” said Jim Meyers, Barneveld coach. “We had three really good shots in the last 30 seconds and they just didn’t go down.”

However, a minute later, Heiligenthal drew a Malcolm Reed foul, sending him to the free throw line where he converted 1-of-2 to pull Catholic Central ahead 36-35.

“Barneveld was extremely tough and talented, they are long, they are quick, they can shoot,” Kyle Scott said. “They have a force on the inside.”

Catholic Central, who held all Golden Eagles scorers to single digits, out-rebounded Barneveld 24-17.

Entering the game, Scott said he wanted to force Barneveld to the outside, making them take shots from the perimeter, where they went 3-for-11 from 3-point range.

“In a wide-open arena, we wanted them to make them take these shots,” Scott said.

The Hilltoppers also held Matthew Myers, the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer with 18.6 per game, scoreless.

“They played very well, that was a good strong defense, they did a really good job,” Myers said.


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