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TJ Lamb pushes past Challenger defense during the first half of state semi-final action. -
Brody Dernbach drives to the basket for Almond-Bancroft. -
Community members gathered at Almond-Bancroft High School on March 14 to cheer on the Eagles for their first trip to the WIAA Boys’ State Basketball Tournament. -
Eagle fans were able to get autographs and photos from the team during the State send-off on March 14 at Almond-Bancroft High School. -
Junior Clarence Pratt gets ready for a second half pass in the State Semi-Final game. -
Junior Brody Dernbach scored 11-points in the State Semi-Final against the Abundant Life Christian Challengers. -
Almond-Bancroft Sophomore Emmitt Stiles soars between Challenger defense to catch a rebound ball. -
The Almond-Bancroft student section cheer on their team as they picked up their scoring in the second half. The Eagles managed to score within 2-points of the Challengers during the final minute of the game before taking a close 37-42 loss. -
Almond-Bancroft senior TJ Lamb was fast on his feet to maneuver past Challenger defense. -
Junior Ayden Phillips flies to the basket for 2-points over the Challengers during the first half the game. Phillips was the top scorer for the Eagles during the WIAA State Semi-Final with 17 points. -
Almond-Bancroft fans were led by their very own Eagle while cheering on their boys’ basketball team during their first ever trip to the WIAA State Semi-Finals at the Kohl Center in Madison. -
Head Coach Curt Lamb talks with the team before the start of the second half of the State Semi-Final.
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“It was tough, hard-nosed basketball by both teams.”
Those words from Almond-Bancroft boys’ basketball coach Curt Lamb came minutes after the Eagles dropped a 42-37 decision to Abundant Life Christian March 15 in a WIAA Division 5 state semifinal at the Kohl Center in Madison.
It was only the second loss of the season for Almond-Bancroft, which competed at state for the first time and ended the season with a 27-2 record.
Abundant Life Christian advanced to the Division 5 state championship game with the win, but fell to Columbus Catholic 81-75 March 16.
The Challengers’ defensive game plan made it hard for the Eagles to get into an offense groove, according to Lamb.
Almond-Bancroft’s only lead of the game came on Brody Dernbach’s basket that gave the Eagles a 5-3 advantage in the opening minutes.
Abundant Life led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 28-19 lead into the locker room at the break.
“Obviously, we didn’t get off to the start we wanted to,” Lamb said. “We did some things that were kind of uncharacteristic for us in the first half, just not finishing around the basket like we’re capable of, things we really haven’t done all year.”
The Eagles held the Challengers to 14 points in the second half and eventually cut the lead to one point in the final minute.
“As the game wore on, we were very solid defensively for the most part, but like these kids have done all year long, we competed and we battled,” Lamb said. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end, but just couldn’t quite get over the hump.”
The Eagles opened the second half with baskets from Clarence Pratt and Ayden Phillips and eventually cut the lead to one point – 37-36 and 38-37 – but never tied the game or took the lead.
The 37 points were a season-low for the Eagles.
“It was very choppy (on offense), absolutely,” Lamb said. “We couldn’t get that success on success kind of a deal. If you asked each one of them, I think they would say we could have been a little better on the offensive end. Give a lot of credit to Abundant Life. Defensively, they made us a little uncomfortable.”
Ayden Phillips led the Eagles with a game-high 17 points and 22 rebounds.
“The second half was a lot more solid,” he said. “We were a lot more active on defense. Guys were moving around and we were talking a lot more. We were fairly quiet in the first half. For me, I would say it was jitters. We all had some jitters and worked them out as we made our way into halftime.”
Dernbach added 11 points for Almond-Bancroft, while Jonah and Jacob Koon led the Challengers with 13 and 11, respectively.
“It’s my 25th year and there a lot of great teams that built the foundation for our program, a lot of great kids,” Lamb said. “I wish I could have brought each and every one of them down here. This group did a great job of playing their roles in how to play winning basketball.
“It’s 25 years of working, constant open gyms,” he said. “I give my wife (Lori) a lot of credit. She lets me do this stuff. To finally get down here – not just for me, but for all the coaches I’ve had over the years and all the kids that I’ve coached – anything that I accomplish is because of those kids and their abilities. I’ve been blessed with so many great kids over the years.”
“I think we made a lot of people proud in our community,” Phillips said. “Not only am I proud, but I’m proud for my teammates.”
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with all the good feelings, the joy, the community spirit,” Lamb said. “We try to play a certain way where we compete, play hard and actually make our communities proud. I think this group did a phenomenal job of that this year. This week overall was something that we’ll never forget.”
Those words from Almond-Bancroft boys’ basketball coach Curt Lamb came minutes after the Eagles dropped a 42-37 decision to Abundant Life Christian March 15 in a WIAA Division 5 state semifinal at the Kohl Center in Madison.
It was only the second loss of the season for Almond-Bancroft, which competed at state for the first time and ended the season with a 27-2 record.
Abundant Life Christian advanced to the Division 5 state championship game with the win, but fell to Columbus Catholic 81-75 March 16.
The Challengers’ defensive game plan made it hard for the Eagles to get into an offense groove, according to Lamb.
Almond-Bancroft’s only lead of the game came on Brody Dernbach’s basket that gave the Eagles a 5-3 advantage in the opening minutes.
Abundant Life led by as many as 11 points in the first half and took a 28-19 lead into the locker room at the break.
“Obviously, we didn’t get off to the start we wanted to,” Lamb said. “We did some things that were kind of uncharacteristic for us in the first half, just not finishing around the basket like we’re capable of, things we really haven’t done all year.”
The Eagles held the Challengers to 14 points in the second half and eventually cut the lead to one point in the final minute.
“As the game wore on, we were very solid defensively for the most part, but like these kids have done all year long, we competed and we battled,” Lamb said. “We gave ourselves a chance at the end, but just couldn’t quite get over the hump.”
The Eagles opened the second half with baskets from Clarence Pratt and Ayden Phillips and eventually cut the lead to one point – 37-36 and 38-37 – but never tied the game or took the lead.
The 37 points were a season-low for the Eagles.
“It was very choppy (on offense), absolutely,” Lamb said. “We couldn’t get that success on success kind of a deal. If you asked each one of them, I think they would say we could have been a little better on the offensive end. Give a lot of credit to Abundant Life. Defensively, they made us a little uncomfortable.”
Ayden Phillips led the Eagles with a game-high 17 points and 22 rebounds.
“The second half was a lot more solid,” he said. “We were a lot more active on defense. Guys were moving around and we were talking a lot more. We were fairly quiet in the first half. For me, I would say it was jitters. We all had some jitters and worked them out as we made our way into halftime.”
Dernbach added 11 points for Almond-Bancroft, while Jonah and Jacob Koon led the Challengers with 13 and 11, respectively.
“It’s my 25th year and there a lot of great teams that built the foundation for our program, a lot of great kids,” Lamb said. “I wish I could have brought each and every one of them down here. This group did a great job of playing their roles in how to play winning basketball.
“It’s 25 years of working, constant open gyms,” he said. “I give my wife (Lori) a lot of credit. She lets me do this stuff. To finally get down here – not just for me, but for all the coaches I’ve had over the years and all the kids that I’ve coached – anything that I accomplish is because of those kids and their abilities. I’ve been blessed with so many great kids over the years.”
“I think we made a lot of people proud in our community,” Phillips said. “Not only am I proud, but I’m proud for my teammates.”
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with all the good feelings, the joy, the community spirit,” Lamb said. “We try to play a certain way where we compete, play hard and actually make our communities proud. I think this group did a phenomenal job of that this year. This week overall was something that we’ll never forget.”