For a season of uncertainty from before the first tip of the season to the final buzzer of the state tournament, River Falls takes away a lot of positives as Wildcats head coach Zach Campbell sees it.

“Strong talent coupled with strong character will always find a way to be rewarded,” Campbell said.

Finishing in the final four of the state tournament doesn’t hurt either. The thirdranked Wildcats (23-1) won the Big Rivers Conference and made the WIAA Division 1 state semifinals before falling to state champion Wauwatosa East 56-48 on March 6 in Oshkosh.

“The championship experience was phenomenal, but the process these boys took to get to that point is what has made them champions,” Campbell said. “This is a group that has reaped the benefits of those before them and raised the bar to another level for our basketball program.”

River Falls last made the state tournament in 2005 and had successful teams in between, but this squad broke through to end the 16-year drought. The Wildcats did it in the clutch as Zac Johnson hit a game-winning threepoint to get past DePere 5352 in the sectional final on Feb. 27. River Falls faced more challenges at state, overcoming a 9-0 start by Wauwatosa and grabbed for the first time at 43-42 in the second half with about five minutes left. The Wildcats also led at 49-48 with 2:33 left in the game.

“When we took the lead for the second time with about four minutes left we were a stop away from being able to control the pace after the final media timeout,” Campbell said. “We got them to take a shot that we felt good with, unfortunately, we were not able to secure the rebound and gave them an ‘and one’ to take the lead and momentum back.”

This time around, JT Dougherty had the big threepoint shots for the Wildcats, six total. He led all scorers with 25 points.

“JT Dougherty was fantastic on the offensive end and carried us at times,” Campbell said.

Turnovers played a big role in the end as the Wildcats committed 15.

“Tosa presented a length and athleticism that we had not yet seen this year and forced us into a lot of poor decisions,” Campbell said. “However, our scrappiness and ability to take away space from them in the half court gave us a shot late in the game.”

“I love the fight and grit that we played with,” Campbell added. “We were able to stand toe to toe with the D1 champion.”

It ended a season where River Falls, and all teams, faced a much sneakier opponent in COVID 19. The Wildcats played all about three games on their schedule, and played through a short stretch of Campbell being in quarantine due to a family COVID case in January. River Falls went 10-2 in the Big Rivers Conference amid the pandemic- challenged season and won postseason games one after another on its home court.

“Together is always better,” Campbell said. “This couldn't be any more appropriate than a season like this that required the boys to think about every move they made off the court and caused them to say 'no' to so many things they otherwise would take advantage of during their high school years. All in an effort to keep our team healthy and together for this season.”

Photos by Gaylen Bicking.