PARDEEVILLE — The magical run came to an end for the Glarner Knights in a 44-42 WIAA Division 4 boys basketball sectional semifinal loss to Capitol South rival Marshall March 10. 

The two teams went blow-for-blow for 35 1/2 minutes, only for the Cardinals to pull away down the stretch thanks to made free throws and a no-call. Marshall would go on to defeat Onalaska Luther in the sectional final to return to the state tournament for the sixth time in school history, and first in 10 years.

“It was certainly a physical game — at both ends — and they let us play,” New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said. “We kept attacking, and I thought we had some good looks, but the ball didn’t fall our way. It was a great defensive effort by both teams, really. I feel bad for my kids to come out on the short end.”

New Glarus opened the year with three strong nonconference wins, then lost four-straight. On Feb. 4, the Knights were 10-9 overall.

“We kind of had a reality check halfway through the season,” senior guard Bryce Stampfli said. “We knew what we were capable of, and we just had to flip a couple of possessions. Every game we lost, were only by a couple of points, and we knew we had to buckle down and work hard.”

The Knights tore off seven wins a row, including a 61-56 victory over Marshall on Feb. 18. Just once during the stretch was New Glarus held below 61 points.

In the sectional semifinal against Marshall, the Knights game planned to play strong defense and work the ball inside. Marshall entered the game averaging more than 65 points per game and 17.3 3-point attempts. New Glarus averaged less than five 3s attempted a game.

The Cardinals couldn’t buy a bucket from deep in the first half, missing their first eight 3-point tries and hitting just 1 of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half. 

New Glarus, meanwhile, led early on by 10 points at 13-3, but Marshall worked it back to a tie at halftime, 19-19.

“I thought we left some points out there early in that first half. We jumped on them early, and then we went 5 or 6 minutes there in the second half without scoring,” Sysko said. “The first thing I said in the locker room at half was ‘Great defense.’ I think the defense was there all night. We obviously couldn’t shut them out — they have some terrific players that made some big shots down the stretch. They hit their free throws down the stretch. They made one or two more plays than us tonight, and that was the difference.”

In the second half Marshall was a little bit better from outside, hitting three 3s. Both teams finished the game with four triples.

Equally on the minds of both teams and fan bases was the ire of the physical play. Players leaning on a shot were not given the benefit of the doubt when knocked to the ground on, and hacks on penetration to the lane were welcomed. 

No such case drew more audible complaints then in the waning seconds.

Marshall had gone up 40-35 with 35.8 seconds remaining, seemingly poised to move on. But AC Strok buried a 3 to keep New Glarus within a possession, and a foul by Dain Walter sent Marshall’s Kenyon Miggins to the free throw line for a bonus. The Cardinals were coming off of four straight free throws made, but Miggins missed his attempt, and Walter grabbed the board. On the ensuing possession, the Knights went down low to Walter, their 6-foot-8 all-conference center. 

With a chance to tie the game, Walter, a 75% shooter, took a dribble along the baseline with less than 10 seconds left and went up for a shot, getting knocked to the floor with no whistle. Marshall gained control of the rebound and Capitol South Player of the Year Craig Ward went to the line and buried two more free throws with 4.9 seconds left.

Strok scored on an uncontested putback as time expired, but the deficit was too much.

“This team was good. We had good chemistry and we pushed it to the max every single day, and it sucks that it’s over,” said Walter, who will suit up for UW-La Crosse on the football field in the fall. “It’s been a wonderful four years and I wouldn’t take it back. Sysko is a great coach. I love these people. I love this city. I love this team.”

Ward finished with a game-high 17 points, three lower than his season average. He was tightly guarded by New Glarus senior Bryce Stampfli nearly the entire game.

“I worked my butt off to stay on him, but I had a lot of help,” said Stampfli, adding that the team schemed ways to defend the dynamic guard. “My teammates were ready to help me recover. We practiced hard running their offense and working as a team to get in there to help.”

The Knights kept Marshall to more than 20 points below their season average, and Walter attributed it to every man on the flood doing their job.

“We did everything. Craig Ward is a heckuva player, and we had Bryce lock him up,” Walter said. “They are a good team. We beat them twice coming in here, but struggled getting the ball into the bucket on the offensive end.”

Reid Truschinski added 14 points for Marshall, which finished 8-for-10 at the free throw line and were whistled for 10 fouls in the game, including just three in the first half. 

Strok led New Glarus with 12 points, while Walter had 10, Carter Siegenthaler eight, and Stampfli five.

The Knights were just 2 of 6 from the line and committed 14 fouls, with four in the first half.

Everyone could agree that beating a team three times in a season is a difficult task especially when that team is a state-contender.

“It was a great game, especially if you’re just an Average Joe coming out to catch a game this would have been a good one to see,” Sysko said.

The Knights finished the campaign 17-10 overall, while Marshall is 22-6 and will face Roncalli March 17 in a state semifinal game at the Kohl Center in Madison.

“There were a lot of doubts on us coming into the season, and I think we proved them wrong given how well we played and how far we got,” Stampfli said.

Watching a senior class play their final game is hard not just for the players and parents, but the coaches, too. In Sysko’s near two-decades at the helm in New Glarus, it’s still difficult to watch his players walk off the court one final time — especially the unsung, unselfish leaders that don’t always get the share of the limelight.

“We have a ton of seniors on this team, and not everybody got the minutes or got the points or got the rebounds — but every one of them showed up every night, game night, practice night, whatever it was. They gave us their best effort and did what they could to help this team be successful. Whether it was running the opposing team’s offense or defense, or just pushing our starters and challenging them. Credit to those kids, because it’s a lot easier not to work hard, and these kids all chose to do that — work hard — without all the recognition that goes with it.”

Sysko said the intangibles of hard work and dedication bodes well for his players as they move on in life.

“They’ve got skills that will carry them forward. They are going to do good things,” Sysko said. “I’m just so proud of this senior group and how they came together. It wasn’t that long ago we were sitting at 10-9 and nobody would have had us playing in a sectional game, and these guys dug in, came together and got that streak going. Unfortunately, it just ended a little sooner than we wanted it to.”