Slinger stops Port Washington’s postseason run

Fifty percent shooting from a team’s top two scorers, each with 1,000 career points, is often a scrumptious recipe for cooking up a basketball victory.

Except last Thursday when Port Washington High School’s Cal Loose and Grady Karrels were held to eight shots from the field by a suffocating Slinger defense. The pair managed 11 combined points, and the Owls cruised to a 62-33 Division 2 sectional semifinal win in a standing-room-only field house in Cedarburg.

Port took a 7-4 lead in the game’s first four-and-a-half minutes, but the Owls answered with a 17-3 run. They led, 31-16, at halftime, and Port never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.

The game’s final minutes were the opposite of a 57-56 Port win at Slinger on Jan. 6. The Pirates went on a 7-0 run in that game’s last 6:17. This time, the Owls held Port without a point in the game’s final 8:07.

Loose pointed out the difference.

“They had No. 2 Colton Mantz. He is their lockdown defender. He guarded me the whole time. He was just in my grill. He was definitely a game-changer for them,” he said. “The first time we played them, they had the Kohnen brother who was on me, and I knew I could get past him.”

Loose scored two points on 1-for-2 shooting and didn’t get to the free throw line. He had a team-high three assists.

Karrels led the team with nine points on 3-for-6 from the field and 1-for-2 at the line.

“They had Colton Mantz back. He made a big impact. We really just couldn’t get going tonight,” Karrels said. “Defensively, we were pretty aggressive. Sixty-two is not terrible.”

Port senior Izaiah Scheftgen said Mantz is “probably the best defender in the state, honestly. He played very good defense.”

The Owls smothered any Pirate trying to drive inside, then stole some of their passes  back to the outside, leading to fast-break points and crowd-roaring dunks.

“They certainly played more physical. We expected that in a playoff environment. It comes down to us. The mistakes we made and the plays we didn’t. At the end of the day, we kind of shot ourselves in the foot in a lot of different ways,” Port coach Garrett Hoffmann said. “They did a really good job face guarding Cal and Grady.”

Scheftgen had seven points on 3-for-6 shooting. Senior Aiden Mitchell had seven points on 2-for-5 shooting and a team-high five rebounds.

Senior forward Finn Pashak, whose specialty is around the basket, drained two three-pointers in 70 seconds for Port’s final points of the game.

“I was just trying to do anything I could,” he said.

Port was held to 12-for-40 from the field (30%) and went 3-for-6 on free throws. The Owls shot 22-for-40 (55%) and went 13-for-14 on free throws.

Junior Jack Kohnen had 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. His brother, sophomore Joey, had 16 points, and junior Jude Siikarla had 10.

The Owls went on to beat Green Bay Notre Dame, 53-42, last Saturday to qualify for state.

Pirates will remember something else

Port finished 25-2, a school record for victories, and won a school-record 22 games in a row.

“Looking back, I’m not going to remember this game. I’m going to remember the whole season in general. That’s a record we set as a team, and I love all the guys we did it with,” Karrels said.

“We put blood, sweat, respect and tears into this program,” Loose said. “Not being known as a basketball school and going 25-2, that’s something that’s going to stick with me forever.”

Mitchell said, “This year I feel like our team was a lot more connected than in past years. Locker room stuff, hanging out with each other off the court. The night before the game we were at one of our coaches’ houses just hanging out until, like, 10 o’clock. We have a really strong bond this year, and I think that’s what got us as far as we did.”

“It’s incredible,” senior Colton Struckman said. “We can’t be sitting here thinking about this loss. We look back on the season, it’s amazing. Our conference championship is going to be up there in the banners for eternity. Our wins record might be up there for a while too. It means a lot, and the connection we made with the guys, too. It’s irreplaceable.”

Pashak also cited this team’s legacy.

“That means a lot to me. Just knowing that I’ll be somewhere in the school forever. Just being conference champions and the streak we had,” he said.

“I don’t think this record will ever be broken,” Scheftgen said. “Best record, longest streak, won conference. It was an awesome season. I’ll never forget it.”

Karrels reached the record in just his third year as coach.

“I told them after the game, I could probably coach for another 50 or 60 years — it’s going to be tough to beat this senior group,” he said.

Beyond the team’s success, Port’s eight seniors will remember each other.

“I just love my guys, love everybody who supported me along the way. I’m going to be incredibly grateful for these memories,” Loose said.

“They’ve been like a second family to me,” Karrels said. “I just love ’em.”

Scheftgen was talked into staying with the program.

“A year or two ago, I wanted to quit and focus on football. All my friends told me you’ve got to play, you’ve got to play,” he said. “I’m so thankful I did. It was an awesome experience. I’ll remember this team forever. I love everyone. It was definitely worth it.”

Struckman said, “We built it up from the bottom with Garrett coming in as coach our sophomore year. Just the bond we have together is truly incredible.”

“It’s given me friends for life and memories for life,” Mitchell said.

“Two years ago, they were young little sophomores. They really bought in. They not only believed in themselves, they believed in me,” Hoffmann said. “I’m really appreciative of them, their parents, the community showing out here and supporting us and our administration. Everybody’s seriously been phenomenal.”