By Chris Bennett
The Burlington High School boys’ basketball team encountered an angry hornet of an opponent Thursday evening – one the Demons just couldn’t swat and kill.
Fort Atkinson beat Burlington 65-52 in a WIAA Division 2 sectional semifinal game at Wilmot Union High School and ended the Demons’ season.
Fort Atkinson (13-12) plays Waunakee (23-2) Saturday at Middleton for the sectional title and a berth in the Division 2 state tournament. Waunakee beat Sauk Prairie 66-63 Thursday in a sectional semifinal at Baraboo.
The Division 2 state boys basketball tournament is March 17-19 in Madison at the Kohl Center.
Burlington, seeded second in the regional bracket, entered the game on a seven-game winning streak. The Demons (15-10) won 10 of their previous 11 games before playing fourth-seeded Fort Atkinson.
Burlington beat Waterford 68-52 March 5 at home for the regional title and beat Wilmot 70-69 March 4 at home in the regional semifinals.
Fort Atkinson beat Westosha Central 43-31 March 5 at Paddock Lake in the regional final and beat Delavan-Darien 74-61 March 4 at home in the regional semifinals.
The Demons struggled almost from the outset against the more physical Blackhawks. Fort Atkinson went on a 7-0 run and took a 12-6 lead with 12:24 left in the first half. Burlington played catch-up for the remainder of the evening.
Demons’ senior guard Cal Tully hit two 3-point field goals as halftime neared and cut the Demons deficit to 33-27 at the half.
Fort Atkinson did an excellent job taking Burlington from its comfort zone and keeping the Demons from establishing rhythm on offense. Burlington coach Steve Berezowitz said the Blackhawks did a good job playing physical against the Demons.
“Everything was a struggle,” Berezowitz said. “They’re such a physical team. We struggled with some physical teams this year. We knew that’s what they were going to do.”
Berezowitz said the Blackhawks played a slow-paced and methodical game and worked to keep the Demons’ offensive threats from handling the ball.
Nick Klug, the Demons’ leading scorer, finished with seven points. Second-leading scorer Cal Tully finished with six points. Klug averaged 15 points per game and Tully averaged 10 points per game this season.
Burlington cut the Blackhawks’ lead to 47-41 with 8:54 left in the second half. Fort responded with a layup on its next possession and pushed its lead to 49-41.
Fort did not score on its next possession, but did pull down three offensive rebounds before Burlington took control of the ball. Layups on their next two possessions pushed the Blackhawks’ lead to 53-41 with 5:08 left in regulation, which marked Fort’s largest margin to that point in the game.
“We would cut it to six and keep grinding and grinding, and then all of the sudden there would be a little bump, and they’d get a layup,” said Berezowitz, who added that defensive lapses helped the Blackhawks extend their lead in the second half.
Fort Atkinson’s Dylan Bernard scored a game-high 25 points, including five 3-point field goals. Tristan
Shoup scored 21 points for Fort Atkinson. The 6-foot-5 forward finished with six field goals and scored nine points from the foul line.
Ty Wiemer led the Demons with 17 points.
Only one team in Division 2 will be happy with the way its season ends, and that will be the team hoisting a gold ball in Madison in a few weeks. Berezowitz said he told his players their final loss does not negatively color an otherwise fine season.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Bererzowitz said. “If they weren’t high-character kids they could have cashed it in probably in January, and they didn’t.
“They’re some of our best students, our school leaders, and then they go out and lay it on the line at athletic events. In the big picture of things, I got a really awesome group of kids to work with this year.”
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