The Bluejays (20-9) had eight players contribute at least 14 minutes each and that rotation’s active defense wore down the top-seeded Bears (25-4), last year’s Division 4 runner-up.

“We’ve been about defense all year and these guys did a heck of a job to hold them to 49 points,” Cambridge coach Alex Ranney said afterward. “That’s a really good offensive team, but we made every shot they took very difficult and when our defense is rolling, our offense just follows.”

The Bluejays, making their first state tournament visit, had a 13-0 run in the first half to erase a six-point deficit. They added a 14-0 spurt in the second half to pull away as they forced 18 Bonduel turnovers.

In addition, the Cambridge defense held the Bears top three scorers – Quinn Wesenberg, Ryan Westrich, and Carter Moesch – to a combined 27 points, well under their yearlong combined average of 49 points per game.

“One of our keys to the game was to be strong with the basketball,” Bears coach Duke Copp said. “I think a lot of our turnovers were unforced early, but as the game wore on, I think we wore down. And (the Bluejays) played hard. That’s a good basketball team.”

Cambridge, which led 26-22 at the half, took its first double-digit lead at 37-26 with 14:35 remaining and expanded the margin to as much as 20 points on several occasions in the second half. The Bluejays also dominated on points off turnovers (18-2) and points off the bench (22-9).

Senior Cal Nottestad led Cambridge with 16 points, while Jett Horton added 12 and Ian Nelles
11.

“We allowed just 49 points to a dang good basketball team,” Nelles said. “Wesenberg has scored 1,000 points as a junior; that’s impressive to do. But we shut his water down quick and made him shoot tough shots.”

Wesenberg was the lone Bonduel player in double figures, with 12 points. Sophomore Jack Weier added nine points off the bench while Westrich, the Western Michigan football recruit, ended with just eight points but an impressive 19 rebounds before fouling out with less than four minutes remaining.

The Pioneers (27-1) turned up the pace and the pressure in the second half against the
Ramblers (23-6), using a 16-2 run to push a 39-37 lead to 55-39 with 8:16 remaining.

“Our team finds our flow late consistently this season,” Juneau coach Torre Johnson said. “I feel we have a better energy in the second half than anybody. When we get to the end of the game, (our opponents) are kind of winding down. I think we have the better conditioned team because I tell our guys everybody kind of goes good in the first five, 10, 20 minutes of the game.”

Johnson’s son Dooney, a Gonzaga commit, led the Pioneers with 27 points and 11 rebounds as the Pioneers shot 50 percent from the field (28-of-56). He scored 21 of those points in the second half as Juneau attacked the basket off Regis turnovers.

Meanwhile, senior guard Takis Tyler also bedeviled Regis on the frontcourt, finishing with 22 points and four steals. Juneau’s uptempo style and aggressive defense forced the Ramblers out of their usual up-and-down pace as they tried to make it a halfcourt game.

Regis was down 32-25 at the half, but crept to within two on 3-pointers by Joey Brahmer and DJ Cooper five minutes into the second half. Dooney Johnson scored 10 of the Pioneers’ next 16 points, however, to put the game away and leave the Ramblers chasing for the final eight minutes of the game.

“I knew guys can’t stay in front of me, one-on-one,” Dooney said. “A man-to-man doesn’t work against us, nor does a zone. We just attack the rim and use our bodies as the stronger guys.”

The Ramblers, who had won eight of their last nine coming into Thursday’s Division 3 semifinal, looked a bit shellshocked at the start as they made their first state appearance since 2015. Juneau jumped to a 14-3 start before Regis closed to 19-17 with 5:50 left in the half.

Much of Regis’ comeback came behind senior Blake Risler, who entered the game averaging more than 28 points per game. The St. John’s (Minnesota) recruit finished with 24 points and relished the opportunity to compete against Johnson.

“It was a great challenge; he’s a great player,” Risler said. “He’s the type of player where you can’t take a play off. It was important that our entire team, not just one player, stay engaged against them tonight.”

Cooper added 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, but only two other players scored for the Ramblers, who were making their fifth WIAA state tourney appearance.

Corey Collins added 10 points and eight rebounds for Juneau, which is making its first
appearance at the state tournament.