Prescott ended the season on a wild stretch, capping the regular season on a six-game winning streak to come out of nowhere to share the Middle Border Conference title in a three-way tie, seeing senior Kobe Russell score 1,000 points in the waning weeks of the season and receiving a bye in the first round of the playoffs with a No. 2 seed.

In the Regional Semi-final, Prescott took on No. 7 Amery, the team that knocked the Cardinals out in the Regional Final a year ago.

“We knew coming in it was going to be a grind when we saw that bracket with six Middle Border Conference teams on the same side,” Prescott Head Coach Nick Johnson said. “We got lined up with Amery, who we knew was going to be a scary team… We didn’t play the best the first half, but we came out, we played a very good second half and kind of grinded our way to a win.”

Johnson said Amery junior Keaton Wollan may be the best player in the conference, averaging 26.4 points per game and over 10 rebounds.

Prescott beat Amery 68-55 with 20 points from Jackson Matzek on five triples, 18 points from junior Emmett Otto and 13 points from Russell.

Prescott then hosted No. 3 Osceola in the Regional Final on Saturday, a team that split with the Cardinals during the regular season. The Chieftains took a 34-28 lead into the break and would not look back, securing a trip to Sectionals with a 66-52 win.

“We didn’t play our best game. You can’t do that against them, they’re too disciplined, too good of a team,” Johnson said. “I don’t take anything away from our kids, though; a lot of things that didn’t happen was a lot because of how they defended us.”

Johnson said he is proud of the year Prescott had, especially of the mid-season turnaround from the boys to make a run for a conference title.

Prescott’s senior class is filled to the brim with nine student-athletes, those being Russell, Max Monteith, Matzek, Evan Kochendorfer, Gavin Miller, Eyan Miller, Nolan Leask, Zac Matzek and Jacob Chesney.

“Just a bunch of good kids. Nine players, you just don’t see that very often anymore in high school sports,” Johnson said. “Guys that weren’t probably coming in guaranteed minutes and they stuck with it to be part of the team. It’s going to be tough saying goodbye to those kids, but they’ve had a great four years.”

The class has had a lot of success over four years, including a State Tournament appearance in their sophomore season. Prescott finished the year 18-8 overall and 10-4 in Middle Border Conference play.

Elmwood/Plum City

EPC relished the road underdog role, taking an over two-hour trip as the No. 10 seed to face No. 7 Wonewoc Center, and coming away victorious 64-57. The Wolves trailed by nine at the half, but that was not the way the team wanted to go out, and they willed themselves to a win.

“We just told the boys, you don’t want to go home yet,” EPC Head Coach Paul McDonough said. “They played very well in the second half.”

The win landed EPC another trip of over two hours, hitting the road to take on No. 2 Hillsboro. EPC again trailed at the half by single digits, but the talented Hillsboro squad finished the job with a 75-43 win.

EPC’s senior class featured Braeden Bechel, Skylar Fischer, Hudson Hewitt, Mason Hocking and Ariel Perez.

“The senior leadership and their dedication over the years [was felt],” McDonough said. “Your basketball season’s over quicker than you think. Just their overall good attitudes and positive [mindsets].”

The Wolves finished the season 7-18 overall and 3-13 in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play.

Ellsworth

The Panthers’ strong season landed them a No. 6 seed in the Division 3 playoffs, matching up with No. 11 Baldwin-Woodville. Ellsworth took care of the Blackhawks with ease, winning 74-51 to advance to the Regional Semi-finals.

George Rohl was dominant inside with 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting and Omar Coulson had a great game of his own with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

“Kind of just did what we needed to do. Rebounded extremely well, George and Omar played very well, didn’t shoot it overall that great, which kind of bled into the Osceola game,” Ellsworth Head Coach Derek Staley said.

The win took Ellsworth to No. 3 Osceola, a team the Panthers sneaked by twice in the regular season by a combined five points. Osceola got the last laugh though. Ellsworth led for much of the game, including a 38-32 halftime lead and 56-49 lead with eight minutes to play, but Osceola stormed back to take it 67-62. Coulson and Rohl again scored 20 points each.

Staley said the Panthers played well enough to win; however, they needed a few more shots to fall than what they got, going 5-of-28 from beyond the arc.

Ellsworth matched Prescott’s nine-member senior class, made up of Coulson, Wyley Myers, Parker Peterson, Gavin Klos, Rohl, Andrew Girdeen, Jack Stoltenburg, Ethan Ladwig and Keegan Stahlke.

“Obviously, we had the huge senior class, and most of them played a ton, so they meant a lot to the team and to the program,” Staley said. “When I got to Ellsworth, they were freshmen and getting to see them grow and get all the way through was fun to be a part of.”

The Panthers ended the year with a 16-10 overall record and an 8-6 Middle Border Conference record.

Spring Valley

No. 11 Spring Valley took the trip to face No. 6 Luther in the postseason. The Cardinals put up a fight, leading 23-21 at the half, but things clicked for Luther in the back half to win 63-49. Freshman Jake Kotten led Spring Valley with 17 points on 5-of-12 shooting and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Spring Valley will lose seniors Collin Brunner and Toby Shafer. Spring Valley Head Coach Rob Bosshart said the two have sacrificed their own time to make those around them better, and that is all a coach can ask for.

“It’s always hard to say goodbye to the seniors at the end of the season after having those kids in the program for as long as they have been. Both of them started right away in elementary. They had quite a few kids in their class that started out, and most of them dropped out along the way, but those two guys stuck it out,” Bosshart said. “The thing that I’ll think about with those two is how they really worked hard to mentor our young kids during practices and games this season.”

Spring Valley finished the year 7-18 overall and 5-11 in Dunn-St. Croix Conference play.