Woodland uses huge third quarter in win at Serena

SERENA — After both squads clawed through a sluggish opening half, the Woodland boys basketball team used a 21-6 third quarter against Serena to put itself in the driver seat.

The Huskers were able to close a once 15-point deficit to just two in the final minute, but the Warriors made good on their final eight free throws to keep the hosts at arm’s length and eventually secure a 61-58 win on Al Stegman Court.

Woodland trailed 29-27 at halftime to Serena, which defeated the Warriors by 21 in the opening round of the Seneca Shipyard Showdown Tournament after Christmas.

“We talked at halftime about how we were doing four or five really good things in a row and then turning around and making four or five mistakes in a row,” Woodland coach Connor Kaminke said, his team now 14-5. “We were really just sloppy on both ends.

“We knew in the second half Serena was going to come out more aggressive and try and make the game more physical. I thought we did a good job of matching that, and going on an extended run like we did was great to see. Our play in the third quarter helped put us in a good position and didn’t allow a mistake here or there hurt us too badly.

“We didn’t do all of the little things late that we needed to, but we found ways to make plays in the final few minutes and also knocked down our free throws.”

Trailing 33-30 two minutes into the third, eight points by Nick Plesko, four points by Connor Dodge, a drive by Nolan Price and a free throw by Zandar Radke helped the Warriors close out the period with a 48-35 lead.

Dodge led Woodland with 17 points, including becoming the 10th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. Price finished with 14 points and five rebounds, Plesko had 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists and Jaron Follmer chipped in nine points.

“It was in the back of my mind for most of the game, but with the way the game went I kind of forgot about it until it happened,” Dodge said of reaching 1,000 points. “It’s a milestone that I’ve wanted to reach for a long time, so it’s nice to have finally reached it.

“Coach talked about matching Serena’s physical play and keeping them off the offensive boards were going to be the key in the second half. I thought we did a good job with that and did a much better job of getting to the basket in the second half.”

Serena’s Beau Raikes, who finished with a game-high 25 points and nine rebounds, netted 11 in the fourth to fuel the Serena comeback. His drive with 1:33 to go and assist to Cash Raikes with 14 seconds left both times cut the disadvantage to two. But Price and Dodge each followed with a pair of free throws to help visitors keep if a two-possession game.

Cash Raikes posted 14 points, Payton Twait 11 point, and Finn Rosengren a team-best seven rebounds.

“(Woodland) started making shots that they didn’t in the first half, but some of that I feel was because we weren’t guarding hard enough,” Serena coach Dain Twait said, his squad now 11-11. “We started playing soft in the second half and let then dictate how the game was being played. We let them drive and cut to the lane way too easily. It also didn’t help on the offensive end that we missed a ton of layups.

“Being consistent, playing three of four good quarters has been how we’ve went almost the entire season. There are also going to be runs and spurts where a team scores on you, but we just haven’t figured out how to limit those things before a 6-0 run turns into a 12-0 or 14-0 run.”

Woodland hosts Henry-Senachwine in a Tri-County Conference game on Friday. Serena is off until it travels to Kirkland to play Hiawatha on Tuesday in a Little Ten Conference contest.