River Falls takes on Wauwatosa East Saturday in first trip to state in 16 years

Zac Johnson splashed home eight three pointers, including the dagger.

Down by a basket, Johnson hit a three with 15 seconds remaining in Saturday afternoon’s WIAA Sectional Championship to propel the Wildcats to the WIAA Division One State Tournament Saturday.

River Falls, 21-2 on the year, faces off against Wauwatosa West in its state semifinal game, set for 2:10 p.m. at Menomonie National Arena in Oshkosh. The Wildcats were seeded third for the tournament, and Tosa (21-3) is two. Top-seeded Kimberly (24-2) will play fourth-seeded DeForest (16-5) in the early game on the day. The winners face off at 8:15 p.m. in the state championship game.

DePere missed an opportunity to ice a win. They slowed the game down at the end with a two-point lead. River Falls fouled to send a player to the line. Two missed free throws later, and the state was set for Johnson.

‘Liam Dougherty snared the rebound off the missed foul shot, and passed to Johnson. Johnson stepped back at the top of the key and drained the three.

While attendance was limited because of the pandemic, you couldn’t tell by the noise in the River Falls Fieldhouse.

When the dust settled, DePere still had 10 seconds left but had to contend with the Wildcat defense. Johnson and Michael Schurman forced DePere’s top scorer, John Kinzger, to pass the ball. A game-winner at the buzzer missed the mark, and the River Falls players, coaches, fans and families went into a frenzy.

Johnson finished the game with 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Liam Dougherty had eight points and three rebounds, while JT Dougherty had eight points and three assists. Schurman had six points, seven rebounds and three assists.

“I’m just glad we were able to do this this year and really reward our community with some hope and some pride through some difficult times,” said River Falls Coach Zac Campbell, who noted that he was sidelined

Photo by Gaylen Bicking.

Photo by Gaylen Bicking. for several games this year because of COVID-19, and his team fought on.

“We have a senior laden class of guys who have been around at the varsity level for three years with us and they’ve worked extremely hard. These guys have driven our program to another level and continue to raise the bar. I’m thankful that they’re rewarded with this opportunity to wrap it up at a state tournament,” said Campbell.

“That’s a game I won’t ever forget,” said Campbell. We’ve got guys that make plays in our senior class. After securing the rebound (off the missed free throw) and coming down and getting the ball to Zac Johnson. He’s been our guy for years here and has worked his tail off and been just a phenomenal leader within our program. He stepped up and hit the biggest shot of his life to give us a one point lead. Zac just makes plays and he pulled up and hit a great shot to give us a lead.”

DePere’s final shot bounced back and a rebounded putback missed the mark also.

“It was almost like time stood still there for a little bit, but thankfully that didn’t fall for them,” said Campbell.

Johnson opened the game with two three-pointers to give the Wildcats some early momentum, but the game was close throughout. River Falls led 15-8 before DePere quickly tied the game with 8:34 in the first half.

DePere took its first lead of the game at halftime, 28-27, and the second half was a battle. DePere appeared to have the edge in the final moments but couldn’t connect on those critical free throws.

River Falls advanced to the title game with a 48-36 win over Eau Claire North at home Thursday. Johnson led the Wildcats with 19 points and four assists, while JT Dougherty had 13 points. Schurman scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds, while Chris Chapin had six points and four assists. Ethan Campbell had seven rebounds, and Liam Dougherty grabbed four.

An elite bunch! The River Falls Wildcat seniors played themselves into the school record books this season: Victor Bye, Chris Chapin, JT Dougherty, Zac Johnson, Cole Frisch and Liam Dougherty.