Panthers Season Comes to an End at Pius

The Greendale Panthers won just four games in the entire regular season but none of that matters once the calendar turns to March and the WIAA State Basketball Tournament begins.

After an easy 56-27 opening round victory over St. Francis the Panthers hoped they could play the role of "Cindarella" and pull off a huge upset over the Pius XI Popes on Friday.

The upstart Greendale team gave Pius everything they could handle for the better part of three quarters, but in the end the Popes crushed Greendale's "Cinderella" hopes and advanced to the next round with a 55-39 victory.

"We played a defense that we have never played before in the hopes of getting more size on the court," said Greendale head coach Ryan Fiet on his team's 3-2 zone defense. "It kept [Pius] from getting easy baskets and was the reason we were in the game in the first half."

Although Pius, the two seed in the sectional, was a heavy favorite, Greendale showed no signs of being intimidated. The Panthers gave maximum effort on both sides of the court from the opening tip to counter any athletic advantage that Pius might have.

The two teams traded baskets and turnovers for most of the first quarter as they were looking to shake the nerves of the big game. The Panthers new 3-2 zone proved to be a mystery to Pius as they were forced into many turnovers.

The Panthers tried to take advantage but Pius was able to keep them in check and at the end of the quarter Greendale held a slim 14-13 victory.

The second quarter set a tone in the game that nothing was going to come easy for either team. Both defenses played extremely physical and contested every shot.

Pius looked as if they were ready to pull away but then Greendale's senior guard Andrew Brees stepped up to lead the Panthers.

Moments after airballing a shot, with the Pius' student section letting him hear about it, Brees hit a deep three-pointer to tie the game up and quiet his doubters in the Pius section. After the Panthers took a charge on the defensive end of the floor it appeared that they had all the momentum on their side.

But yet again Pius was able to weather the storm and keep the Panthers in check. At the end of the second quarter, the Popes held a 27-25 lead.

Their were many moments in the third quarter when it looked like Pius was ready to pull away for good, but each time the Panthers were able to find a way to stay in it. Whether it be a banked in three by junior Sam Brick, junior forward Alex Noggle getting to the free throw line or an off-balance three-pointer by senior Mitchell Placek, the Panthers gave everything they could to stay alive.

However, Pius junior Carrington Love would not let the Panthers pull any upset on this night. The speedy point guard took over the game late in the third quarter and into the fourth to push Pius' lead to double digits.

For the game, Love led all scorers with 19 points but his contributions went way beyond points. His speed gave Greendale fits on offense as he caused numerous turnovers and single-handily ruined any comeback effort.

Free throws and lay-ins allowed Pius to extend the lead to 16 where the game ended, but the game was much closer than the score would have you believe.

"Even though we only won four games all year, there was no questioning the effort these guys gave.," said Fiet. "They showed up to every game believing that they had a chance to win."