This story is sponsored by Dental Clinic of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – Auburndale senior forward Austin Hawkins said sees a lot of similarities both on and off court with Amherst, the Apaches opponent Thursday at the WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament.
Auburndale will also get a chance to knock off a school that ended its dreams of a state tournament appearance last year, when Amherst beat the then 22-1 Apaches in a regional final on their home court.
Separated by a 40-mile stretch of Highway 10, the two Central Wisconsin schools will bring similar styles to the Kohl Center when they hook up in a Division 4 state semifinal Thursday night in Madison.
“They are an extremely athletic team and they are there for a reason,” Hawkins said of Amherst. “Very rarely are they out of position on defense. Everything’s got to be in line. They do everything right.
“I have the upmost respect for Amherst – their coach, their players, their fans – it’s an awesome community. I relate it to a lot like ours in terms of the support, the kids, they’re really competitive, and they are successful. We played there when I was a freshman in the playoffs and it reminds me a lot of Auburndale.”
Hawkins, who leads Auburndale at 19.9 points and eight rebounds a game, shoots 60 percent from the field. Junior guard Blake Anderson added 12.4 points per game and has a team-high 67 3-pointers, which includes five straight during a 21-2 first-quarter run that pushed the Apaches to a huge win over Unity in a Division 4 sectional final last Saturday.
Senior center Ben Bolder chips in with eight points and five rebounds a game, and although junior point guard Isaac Castellano doesn’t score a lot (4.7 points a game), he averages 7.5 assists and 3.5 steals a contest for the Apaches.
Amherst has similar statistics and a balanced-scoring attack. Caleb Glennon, who quarterbacked the Falcons to the Division 6 state football championship in the fall, leads the team at 14.7 points a game. Marcus Jensen, son of coach Gregg Jensen, scores 12.9 points a game and pulls down 6.8 rebounds a contect. He has 61 of the team’s 94 3-pointers this season.
“We’ve probably got a little more dominating post presence than they do, but they probably are more athletic that we are,” said Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter, who has posted a 100-21 record in five seasons as the Apaches head coach. “Glennon is a great athlete, he was a great football player. He can guard the point guard right on down to Austin (Hawkins), he’s that versatile.
“They are real similar. They play real good defense, they take care of the ball and they’re not going to beat themselves. It’s the way we like to play too.”
Weinfurter said he is happy to get a chance to play Amherst, and coach against his friend Jensen, at the state tournament, but isn’t necessarily out for revenge over last year’s untimely loss.
“You look at that game to see how they played you, or how you may want to play them because the styles don’t change…as far as revenge or anything like that, no,” Weinfurter said. “It’s not like they’re a bitter rival, I don’t know if the kids know each other but Coach Jensen and I do, and there’s a lot of mutual respect. He’s been around for almost 30 years now and he’s not only a good coach, but he’s a good guy.”
Castellano, on the other hand, said he would like nothing better than to beat the Falcons.
“We have a task at hand in Madison and we’re not just going down there to celebrate,” he said. “It’s going to be bittersweet revenge, I am hoping. We have a thing in our locker room from Amherst beating us (last year) just for motivation.”
2013 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament
March 7-9, Kohl Center, Madison
Thursday, March 7
Division 4 semifinals
Auburndale (25-1) vs. Amherst (22-3), 6:35 p.m.
Cuba City (26-0) vs. Whitefish Bay Dominican (22-4), 8:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 9
Championship, 12:45 p.m.
TV: WAOW, Channel 9, Wausau
Radio: Thursday’s game, WDLB-AM 1450; Saturday’s game, WOSQ-FM 92.3; both games online at wdlbwosq.com.
Tickets: $11 per session; available online by clicking here, or at the Kohl Center gate beginning Thursday morning.