Regardless of the final score, the Prescott boys’ basketball team enjoyed a once-in-alifetime experience at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Monday, Jan. 16.

Prescott traveled to Milwaukee to compete against Racine St. Catherine’s as part of the Bucks’ Prep Series, which aims to give some of the best high school teams in the state a larger platform to compete against other elite teams at Fiserv Forum.

Both Prescott and Racine St. Catherine’s applied for and were selected to compete in the high school showcase. The Racine St. Catherine’s Angels simply overwhelmed Prescott both offensively and defensively and cruised to a 74-41 victory. Prescott head coach Nick Johnson spoke about the opportunity his kids got on Monday night.

“What an opportunity for a high school kid to be a part of this. It’s something they’ll never forget for the rest of their life,” Johnson said. “A lot of kids don’t get to do something like this in their career. Yeah, we lost and didn’t play well, but the bigger picture is they got to play at the Fiserv Forum after the Milwaukee Bucks – it’s unbelievable. Don’t remember the loss, remember the opportunity to play here and be with your teammates.”

Prescott entered the game with a 10-2 record and as the No. 3-ranked team in the weekly Wissports.com coaches’ poll. The Angels entered the contest with an 11-1 record and as the No. 5 team in the Division 3 poll.

Racine St. Catherine’s has a physical, explosive offense that averages nearly 70 points per game which includes three starters that average more than 13 points per contest. For coach Johnson, the game plan was to play their signature 1-3-1 zone to limit slashing opportunities and generate success on the glass.

“We figured we would have a hard time in our man-to-man defense with how quick they are and we’ve struggled in that defense against any good team this year,” Johnson said. “We’ve played zone well, so we knew it would try to stop dribble penetration and will help us rebound and then we live and die by hoping they don’t shoot well.”

Except Racine St. Catherine’s did shoot well. The Angels hit five three-pointers in the first nine minutes of the half, which led to a 21-7 lead that buried Prescott early. A lot of those three-pointers came via offensive rebounds that got kicked back out for open jumpers.

The Angels attacked Prescott’s zone with ease and buried nine three-pointers en route to a 40-23 lead going into the halftime intermission. Slow starts and poor rebounding have been a theme for Johnson’s Cardinals this year, especially against top-tier programs.

“We always start slow and we always have to climb the ladder and play from behind. I don’t know why this team comes out so flat,” Johnson said. “It’s a concern because we’ve seen it all season. You can’t do it, especially against a good team, because it’s just too much of an uphill battle to come back 14 points.”

Racine St. Catherine’s guard Evan Moherek led the charge for the Angels on Monday night. He tallied a game-high 19 points which included five three-pointers. He also recorded two rebounds, three assists and two steals in the blowout win over Prescott.

The Angels had three players in double figures, including the aforementioned Moherek’s 19, as well as senior forward Domonic Pitts and freshman guard LaMont Hamilton, who both had 15 points.

Prescott only had one player reach double figures, senior guard Jordan Malmlov, who finished with 16 points and two assists on 6-19 shooting from the floor. Junior forward Dallas Wallin had just four points on 2-6 shooting in the loss.

Throughout the season, Wallin has been the team’s second-leading scorer with 19.7 points per game which trails only Malmlov’s 25 per contest. However, Wallin often lets the offense come to him, and when it isn’t coming, he doesn’t get enough shots. Coach Johnson spoke about how Wallin needs to take control in big games.

“I 100% agree with that,” Johnson said when asked if Wallin needs to be more aggressive offensively in big games. “He needs to take over and have that mindset where he thinks ‘Give me the ball and let me go to work.’ He didn’t get many good looks and a lot of it was his own fault. He needs to be more assertive and aggressive because he can score on anybody whenever he wants. We’re trying to push him to do that.”

Racine St. Catherine’s outscored Prescott 34-18 in the second half which sealed the Cardinals’ 74-41 defeat. The loss was Prescott’s third consecutive defeat, adding to a two-game skid that included previous defeats against No. 10 Osceola in the D3 poll and No. 3 Luther in the Division 4 rankings.

Prescott now has three losses in as many games against teams ranked in the top 10 in Wisconsin. Prognosticators from around the state will likely start to question Prescott’s legitimacy as a contender on the state level because of those results. Coach Johnson addressed what the outside noise will likely say.

“That’s what they will say and they have a right to say that,” Johnson said. “I would say Prescott’s not that good right now. I’m convinced that we’re in a slump and we can and will get out of it. I’m not ready to give up on this team and say we can’t beat really good teams. I know we can. People should say that because we’ve played three ranked teams and lost all three. We have to respond after taking three straight losses. So, we’re going to find out.”

Prescott responded with back-to-back wins in the ensuing two contests, including a 78-72 victory at home against Somerset in a Middle Border Conference battle and an 8172 win in the annual Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Border Battle on Saturday, Jan. 21.

Prescott is now 12-3 overall and 7-1 in league play. The Cardinals are back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 24, on the road against Saint Croix Central. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Prescott senior forward Brandon Stuart hits a fading mid-range jumper at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Monday, Jan. 16.Photo by Reagan Hoverman

Junior forward Dallas Wallin of the Prescott boys basketball team takes a jumper near the free throw line against Racine St. Catherine’s. Photo by Reagan Hoverman