BELLEVILLE — The Glarner Knights are back in the sectional semifinals for the first time since their state championship run three seasons ago. The Knights knocked off Deerfield 72-54 on the road March 4 in a regional semifinal, then defeated rival and top-seeded Belleville 70-61 March 5 in the regional final.

In the win over Deerfield, New Glarus fell behind 24-18 after 13 minutes of play, but closed the half on a 9-4 run to get within a point at halftime, 28-27. The final bucket of the period came at the horn, as Carter Siegenthaler buried a 3 on a catch-and-shoot from AC Strok. 

The Knights (17-9)  carried the momentum into the second half, outscoring Deerfield 45-26.

The next night against rival Belleville (20-6), the Knights led 11-6 five minutes into the game and made it 24-16 seven minutes later. The Wildcats went on a 7-0 run of their own to get back to within a point at 24-23, but New Glarus sprang off a 9-2 run of its own to close out the stanza, and held a 33-25 advantage in the locker room at halftime.

The two teams went back-and-forth in the second half, with Belleville constantly threatening to bring it to within a possession and take the lead, but the Knights held off and finished with the nine-point win.

Up next for New Glarus is Marshall (20-6), another Capitol South rival. 

The Knights won both games over the Cardinals this season — 64-55 on Jan. 21 and 61-56 on Feb. 18. 

The sectional semifinal game is slated for March 10 at Pardeeville. The winner will face either Luther or top-seeded Mineral Point two days later for the rights to play at the Kohl Center in Madison for the state tournament.