Cyclones Come Up Short In WJCAA Title Game

The UW-Waukesha Cougars held off an inspired second half charge by the UW-Fox Valley Cyclones today to win the 2009-2010 WJCAA State Championship 75–73.  Wes Brown poured in 26 to lead the Cougars, while UW-Fox Valley was paced by Cole Meyer and Karl Sachs, each with 15.

In a “tale of two halves” game, UW-Waukesha coasted through the first half, getting the Cyclones into early foul trouble and converting from the free throw line.  UW-Fox Valley had trouble finding the range on their open three-point attempts and taking care of the ball, finishing the game shooting only 23% from long range, and committing 14 first half turnovers.  Behind Brown’s solid scoring and free throw shooting, the Cougars finished the half with a comfortable 15 point margin at 41-26.  

The second half started with more of the same from UW-Waukesha, converting in transition early behind more scoring from Brown, and the lead ballooned to as much as 24.  If UW-Waukesha had a major advantage in free throw attempts (12/15) in the first half however, it was the Cyclones (12/16) turn in the second half, getting Waukesha into the bonus before the halfway mark of the second half.  

Along with excellent free throw shooting from Sachs and point-guard Chris Searl, the Cyclones switched to a 1-3-1 half-court defense and started to chip away at the double-digit deficit.  With just under 6 minutes left they had fought their way back to within 6 behind two strong post moves and a medium-range jumper from Meyer, all in succession, and strong defensive play from Phil Landua.  

UW-Waukesha was able to outlast the Cyclones in the final minutes however, converting a key offensive rebound off of a missed free-throw, and a fumbled outlet pass into a lay-up.   UW-Fox Valley would get no closer than the two-point final margin.   

Each team had four players in double figures, with Tony Debrozzo and Joe Veasy each adding 14 for the Cougars along with Adonis Joiner who had 13.  Phil Landua had 14 for UW-Fox Valley to go along with Searl’s 10. 

Meyer and Landua were named to the 5 man all-tournament team.  With the loss the Cyclones finish the season at 22-6.

Contributed by:  Andrew Hanlon

UW-Fox To Play For WJCAA State Title

The UW-Fox Valley Cyclones advanced to the WJCCA State Championship game tonight at UW-Waukesha, beating the Western Tech Cavaliers 71-58.  It is only the second time in the 35 year history of the WJCAA that the Cyclones will play for the title, and the first time since 1993.  Cole Meyer led the Cyclones in scoring with 19 points, while Chris Searl, Isiah Mader, and Joe Dachelet each added 12 for UW-Fox.

UW-Fox Valley got off to an early ten point lead behind two 3 pointers by Isiah Mader, but the Cavaliers made a run in the following minutes to cut the lead to 6.  Joe Dachelet muscled in three baskets inside to extend the lead back out to twelve, but the Cavaliers made another run thanks to strong offensive rebounding that cut the margin to 5 going into halftime.  The Cyclones played the entire first half without a turnover.

Cavalier star Nick Perkins picked up his fourth foul early in the second half, and UW-Fox Valley took advantage going inside to Cole Meyer and Phil Landua (9 points, 7 rebounds), along with Dachelet.  The game remained close until the Cyclones made a 6-0 run with just under 7 minutes remaining capped off by a Landua steal and coast-to-coast finish that widened the gap to ten.  

Clayton Oehrle’s 3 point sharp-shooting kept the Cavaliers within striking distance in the second half, but UW-Fox never relinquished the lead.  Perkins led WWTC (18-12) with 18 points. 

UW-Fox Valley will meet UW-Waukesha in tomorrow’s State Championship game at 2:00pm at the UW-Waukesha Fieldhouse.

Contributed by:  Andrew Hanlon

Saturday's WJCAA Schedule

The 2010 Wisconsin Junior College Athletic Association (WJCAA) state tournament will be held at UW-Waukesha in Waukesha, Wisconsin.  The men's schedule is as follows:

Saturday February 20, 2010

6pm UW-Waukesha (18-2) Vs. UW-Rock (19-7)

8pm UW-Fox Valley (21-5) Vs. Western Wisconsin Technical College (18-11)

The championship game is slated for 2pm on Sunday February 21st.

It is the first WJCAA state tournament berth for UW-Fox Valley since 1994 when National League (MLB) umpire Gerry Davis was the head coach of the Cyclone men's program.

Cyclones earn berth in WJCAA Final Four

For the first time since 1994 the UW-Fox Valley men's basketball team will compete in the WJCAA (Wisconsin Junior College Athletic Association) Final Four.  The Cyclones defeated UW-Fond du Lac 60-45 on Wednesday night in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse to earn their first regional title in 16 years.  It was the fourth win over the Falcons this season.

The Cyclones used a stifling defense to hold UW-Fond du Lac to 13 first half points and only 32.1% shooting for the game.  They also held the Falcons two leading scorers to 5/22 shooting and 12 points on the night.  "Our man-to-man was as good as its been all year in the first half," said Cyclone Coach Lee Rabas.  "We did a great job handling their ball screen actions and forced them into a lot of tough, contested shots, many near the end of the shot clock."

Holding a 27-13 halftime lead the Cyclones got off to a fast second half start.  Rabas was pleased with the execution coming out of the lockerroom.  "We got the ball inside early in the half and were able to push the lead out to 20, which was critical.  We also committed only 3 second half turnovers, which always helps."

Cole Meyer (18) and Joe Dachelet (10) combined for 28 points in the paint to lead the Cyclone attack. Meyer also grabbed 10 rebounds for the hosts.  Phil Landua scored 8 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as well for UW-Fox. 

With the win UW-Fox Valley runs their overall record to 21-5, the programs best record since 1994.  They will travel to UW-Waukesha on Saturday February 20th for the WJCAA state tournament where they will play Western Wisconsin Technical College (La Crosse) at 8pm.

UW-Fox wins WJCAA Opener

The UW-Fox Men's Basketball team shook off a lackluster first half to post an 80-55 win over the visiting UW-Sheboygan Wombats on Monday night at the UW-Fox Valley Fieldhouse.  The win pushes the Cyclone men's record to 20-5 and also advances them to the quarterfinals of the WJCAA state tournament.

After a shaky start to the second half the Cyclones settled in offensively and found perhaps their best rhythm of the season.  "We ran motion about as well as we have all year in the second half tonight.  Our screening and cutting was fairly sharp and our spacing allowed our post game room to work," said Head Coach Lee Rabas.

The Cyclones commited only 4 second half turnovers, pulled down 26 offensive rebounds for the game, and got balanced scoring with four players finishing in double figures.  Cole Meyer (Bayport) led the way with 25 points going 10/17 from the floor.  He also pulled down 7 rebounds.  The perimeter attack was led by Chris Searl (Appleton West) who hit 4 three point field goals on his way to 16 points.  Joe Dachelet (Menasha) recorded another double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Phil Landua (Kaukauna) almost joined him finishing with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

With the win UW-Fox Valley will host UW-Fond du Lac in a WJCAA quarterfinal game on Wednesday night at 7pm in the UW-Fox Valley Fieldhouse.  The Falcons, the #6 seed in the eastern bracket, were a 60-59 winner over #3 seed UW-Washington on Monday night.  The winner advances to a WJCAA state semi-final game at UW-Waukesha on Saturday night.

UW-Fox Men Begin WJCAA Tournament Play

In a warm up to 'March Madness' the Wisconsin Junior College Athletic Association begins tournament play this week on Monday February 15, 2010.  The UW-Fox Valley men's basketball team received the #2 seed in the eastern bracket.  They will host UW-Sheboygan in a first round game on Monday February 15, 2010 at 7pm in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.

UW-Fox has beaten UW-Sheboygan twice this year in league play.  That doesn't mean the Cyclones will be looking past the Wombats according to head coach Lee Rabas.  "Beating a team three times in a season isn't easy, and I expect Monday to be a great challenge for our team and program.  If we're going to have any success this week we need to play with the same toughness and intelligence that got us off to such a great start this year."

Rabas likes his teams chances if they can stay healthy, stay out of foul trouble, and execute on offense.  "We need to play the right way defensively for 40 minutes and play with poise and composure on offense.  If we can do that Monday night we'll be fine."

Regular Season Wrap Up

The Cyclones finished the year 19-5 overall and 10-2 in the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference eastern division.  They finished as runners-up to UW-Waukesha in the WCC East.  

UW-Waukesha had to use overtime last Wednesday (February 10th) to defeat UW-Washington 82-76, thus securing the outright conference title.  The Cougars finished 11-1 in the WCC East, with their lone loss coming at the hands of UW-Fox Valley back on November 18th when the Cyclones beat them 73-64 at home in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.  

UW-Waukesha won the thrilling re-match in Waukesha on February 1st.  Cougar point guard Tony DeBrozzo hit an off balance 3-pointer from the left corner with 10 seconds left to propel the home team to a 59-58 win. 

The Cyclones begin WJCAA Tournament play on Monday February 15th as the #2 seed in the Eastern bracket of the tournament.  They'll host UW-Sheboygan at 7pm in the UW-Fox Fieldhouse.  UW-Fox beat the Wombats twice during the regular season.

Cyclones To Close Regular Season at UW-Rock

The UW-Fox Valley men's basketball team heads out on the road again today for their final regular season game.  The Cyclones travel to Janesville, Wisconsin to take on UW-Rock.  The Rattlers are coming off of a win at UW-Marsfield on Saturday in which they erased a 14 point halftime deficit to win 65-58.  

UW-Fox earned a hard fought 70-66 win at UW-Marathon on Saturday.  Isiah Mader led the Cyclones with 17 points.  In two games this year against the Huskies Isiah was a combined 11/15 from three-point range and scored 43 points.  Chris Searl and Cole Meyer added 15 points each, Joe Dachelet netted 12 points, and Phil Landua chipped in with 10 points to go along with 3 steals.  The Cyclones went 21/25 from the free-throw line to seal the win.