Blackhawks beat Lake Holcombe
The WIAA tournament started Tuesday with the Blackhawks hosting the Lake Holcombe Chieftains. The Blackhawks outdistanced Lake Holcombe by a final score of 81-56 and advanced to round 2 versus the #1 seeded Loyal Greyhounds.
The Blackhawks' offense started out a little slow on their first few possessions, but then got going as hoops from Winston Poehler and Preston Fritz gave the Hawks an early lead, as the Chieftains hit a few from long distance early. The Hawks then scored on nine of their next 10 possessions. Sam Wells hit Fritz underneath for two followed by Poehler skipping it over the top of the defense for a Clay Mueller three. A Jack Wendler post-up and score added to the lead with Mueller hitting another three from Colton Paczkowski. The Hawks went into halftime, but not before Talon Mueller found Poehler open for a three on their last possession. The Blackhawks led 44-24 at the half.
The Hawks continued to keep the defensive pressure on as well as offensive pressure on Lake Holcombe creating steals and scoring opportunities. They scored on seven straight possessions early in the second half. Another Mueller to Poehler for three connection, as well as a great cousin-to-cousin pass as Clay Muller set up Talon under the hoop for a bucket. Wells would score a pair of back-to-back buckets in the lane extending the lead for the Hawks. As the half continued Fritz hit freshman Isaiah Pyrchalla for a long three to stretch the defense. Tegan Treankler and Tristian Wojcik would also find the scoring column with some nice inside work, finishing off the Chieftains by a final of 81-56.
The Blackhawks shot 26 of 41 from 2-point range, outrebounded Lake Holcombe 40-25 and finished with 23 assists.
Box Score: Poehler 21 pts, 7 rebs, 3 asts; Wendler 14 pts, 7 rebs; C. Mueller 13 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts; Fritz 11 pts, 6 rebs, 5 asts; T. Mueller 7 pts, 7 rebs, 4 asts; Wells 4 pts, 3 rebs; Paczkowski 4 pts, 4 rebs, 6 asts; Pyrchalla 3 pts; Treankler 2 pts; Wojcik 2 pts.
Coach's Comments
We really moved the ball on offense tonight and got our teammates the ball where they were able to do things. Our defense got focused in after an early wakeup call. The players really were aggressive and communicated on both ends.

Blackhawks win over #1 Seed Loyal Greyhounds
The Blackhawks traveled to Loyal on Friday with the intent of making up for two hard loses during the conference season to the Greyhounds, knowing they did not need to play a perfect game, but to play solid and consistent throughout. Their effort and plan paid off as they beat the Greyhounds 59-51 in round 2 of the WIAA Tournament series.
The game did not start out the way the Blackhawks envisioned as they were only able to score once in their first 11 possessions, with Talon Mueller's drive to the rim being the only basket. Luckily for the Balckhawks, their team defense held the Greyhounds in check as they were only behind 10-2. A Jack Wendler putback for two helped the offense get going, as Winston Poehler would hit from 15 feet to cut their lead to 12-6. Loyal would answer however, but Clay Mueller would jump a passing lane for a steal and take it in for two. Talon Mueller also then battled for a putback inside for two. A Clay Mueller baseline drive and finish along with a pair of Colton Paczkowski free throws would cut it to two at the half, 20-18.
The Hawks' offense really got going in the second half, scoring 41 points in limited possessions. Threes by Poehler and Paczkowski would grab the lead at 28-27 along with a strong drive by Preston Fritz. Another three by Poehler and a long-rebound runout by Fritz put the Hawks ahead 43-34. A straight up pick pocket steal by Clay Mueller for a lay-in helped. After a Loyal press, Clay also hit Paczkowski for an easy two. The Blackhawks held onto the lead late hitting their last six free throws to come away with a huge win and to advance to the next round.
The Blackhawks scored on 21 of their 30 second half possessions, made 14 of 22 free throws, and finished with only 12 turnovers.
Box Score: Poehler 20 pts, 9 rebs; Paczkowski 12 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts; C. Mueller 10 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls; Fritz 9 pts, 5 rebs; T. Mueller 4 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts; Wendler 4 pts, 5 rebs.
Coach's Comments
I was proud of how our guys played defense tonight. For Wendler, Poehler and Fritz to at different times match up with Loyal's inside big guys that constantly crash the board. Along with that, our perimeter defenders (T. Mueller, Paczkowski, Wells, C. Mueller) to chase Loyal's guards around tons of screens without help was all effort. The guys answered the challenge tonight and earned a big victory. Not too many people gave us a chance to win tonight and the guys used that as motivation.

Blackhawks Season ends at Rib Lake
The Blackhawks played a talented Rib Lake Redmen team in the Regional Finals on Saturday and came up short, 55-45, hence ending their season. Both teams came out tight and knew offense would be tough to come by, playing on back-to-back nights. Preston Fritz got some offense for the Hawks early scoring five points, including a three. Clay Mueller kept the Hawks in the game by scoring the Blackhawks next 10 points in a low scoring first half. Winston Poehler hit a late three as the Hawks trailed 25-23 at the half.
The Blackhawks had many opportunities early but could not get some shots to fall as Rib Lake pulled away and built a 12 point lead. Defensive pressure from the Hawks with baskets by Talon Mueller, Poehler and Clay Mueller got it to single digits. Another late push by the Hawks with a Clay Mueller three-point play, backed up by an Isaiah Pyrchalla deep three, cut it to five. In the end the Redman made their free throws and out dueled the Blackhawks winning 55-45.
The Blackhawks finished their season 16-10 overall.
Box Score: C. Mueller 24 pts, 8 rebs, 2 asts, 7 stls; Fritz 7 pts, 2 rebs; Poehler 6 pts, 6 rebs, 3 stls; Pyrchalla 3 pts, 2 stls; T. Mueller 2 pts, 9 rebs; Paczkowski 2 pts, 3 rebs; Treankler 1 pts, 3 rebs; Wendler 1 ast, 1 stl; Wells 1 blk.
Coach's Comments
We battled all night from start to end, as we had our chances throughout to make some plays. The guys never stopped getting after it and giving their full effort as always. This team worked hard the entire season and accomplished some key goals. I can't say enough about our senior crew: Jack Wendler worked tirelessly inside throwing his body around, always playing great defense, leading this team with his expectations; Winston Poehler lead by example always playing with emotions and giving his all, he loves playing and it shows; Colton Paczkowski was a key leader and was a voice on both ends of the court on executing the game plan; Sam Wells inspirational to everyone on how hard he worked to get back to play basketball after only five months removed from ACL surgery, played with heart. Thank you Seniors—You will be missed by the entire program and have left a solid mark by how hard you played and improved.