MANCHESTER –William Sergel is rarely called upon to be the defensive stopper for the Eureka basketball team.
But prior to the Wildcats’ district title game Tuesday, Sergel drew the assignment of guarding Kirkwood’s prolific scorer Evan Simon, who averages nearly 20 points per game.
“They surprised me today. I was told I had to guard him, so I did what I had to do,” Sergel said.
Sergel led a brilliant defensive performance, and guards Mason Dunlap and Joe Rauls combined to score 33 points in propelling Eureka to a 60-45 victory over Kirkwood in the Class 6 District 2 championship game at Parkway South High.
Eureka (19-10), which has won 10 of its last 11 games, advanced to face defending Class 5 state champion Cardinal Ritter (18-11) in a Class 6 quarterfinal at 3 p.m. Saturday at Eureka High.
Trailing 5-0 early, Eureka stepped up its defensive intensity and forced the Pioneers to take difficult shots. Sergel forced Simon into contested pull-ups and tough runners, and the Wildcats held Kirkwood scoreless for the next six minutes while going on a crucial 10-0 run.
“Our plan for (Simon) was six eyes for 32 minutes,” Eureka coach Austin Kirby said. “We knew that he was a really good player and one (defender) wasn’t going to do it by himself, and so when he went left or right, we had to have people ready to step in there and help.”
And those players certainly stepped in. During the fourth quarter, Dunlap drew a charge against Simon and sophomore Jaxson Joggerst drew two more, as Eureka’s ‘six eyes’ plan limited both Simon and Kirkwood to their third-lowest point totals of the season.
“I got beat a few times and my teammates stepped in and helped,” Sergel said. “That’s just part of the game. You’ve got to trust your teammates.”
In all, Eureka held the talented Simon to 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting and forced the Pioneers to find offense in other places. Kirkwood (16-11) received a strong performance from junior Owen Nesslage, who led the Pioneers with 16 points, but could not put together the runs necessary to stay with Eureka.
“We just couldn’t make shots,” Kirkwood coach Nelson Taylor said. “We took care of the ball possession-wise, but you’ve got to put the ball in the basket and we weren’t able to do that. The culmination of that and giving up second-chance baskets spread the score out.”
Eureka senior Mason Dunlap, who averages 17.3 points per game, did not have much success scoring in the first half either, as strong perimeter defense by Kirkwood junior Alex Martinez limited his opportunities. But junior Jack Cubbage controlled the paint with seven second-quarter points before Rauls delivered a buzzer-beating dagger.
Trailing 21-18, Kirkwood tried to play for the final shot but turned the ball over with 15 seconds remaining. After a loose ball scramble on the other end, Joggerst found Rauls with his hands ready and feet behind the three-point line.
The momentum-swinging triple gave Eureka a six-point lead going into halftime. It also gave Rauls a boost of confidence.
He drained another 3-ball early in the third quarter, then took his 135-pound frame into the paint where he drained a pair of tough floaters, including another buzzer-beater that gave the Wildcats a 41-28 lead after three.
“I’ve always been trained to score on all three levels, and it finally came together. I was getting to my spots, getting my shots up and they were just falling,” said Rauls, who finished with 13 points.
And the fourth quarter belonged to Dunlap, who scored 12 of his game-high 20 points in the final frame. He opened the quarter with a beautiful assist to Joggerst, continuing the role of distributor he played through the first three quarters. Then, Dunlap scored in transition, drilled a deep three-pointer and closed the game by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
“In the first half, it’s very important for me to get my teammates involved. Even though I wasn’t going, my teammates were there,” Dunlap said. “Once I let the game come to me, I’ll naturally get (points), but I’m not worried about that. My teammates stepped up big. I trust them and we all trust each other.”
That trust has developed through adversity. The defending district champion Wildcats returned seven seniors but sat with a midseason 9-9 record after consecutive one-possession losses to MICDS and Westminster at the end of January.
“We had some adversity this year, we had times of tough basketball, but from the start I talked to people about how much harder our schedule was this year and I feel it really prepared us,” Kirby said. “It turned to February and that’s when we started this run of 10 out of 11 (wins).”
Kirkwood (16-11) began the season with a similar stretch of disappointment. The Pioneers had a 4-7 record that included a 30-point loss to Kickapoo but finished the season by winning 12 of 16 games and competing in a district championship game.
“Nobody likes starting off rough. It wasn’t pretty, but we started learning what our culture is as far as defending and we learned how to win,” Taylor said. “I told the guys from day one, ‘We’re just trying to move the needle as far as growth and progression.’ It’s not the outcome we wanted tonight, but I’m proud of the guys.”
And on Saturday, Eureka will try to join the 2001 Wildcats’ squad as the second to reach the final four, with the luxury of knowing they are playing their best basketball of the season.
“We went through some adversity early in the season and we reacted really well. It was only a matter of time before we started clicking, and we got hot at the right time,” Dunlap said.