Heights hoping for playoff magic

Wisconsin Heights’ boys basketball coach Zack Colby loves how things line up. Colby and his 11th-seeded Vanguards began the postseason Tuesday with a trip to sixth-seeded River Ridge for a WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal. If the Vanguards won there, they’d head to third-seeded Mineral Point Friday at 7 p.m. for a regional semifinal. The regional finals are Saturday at 7 p.m. “The keys to springing an upset will be simple: do what we’ve been doing pretty much the entire second half of the season,” Colby said. “Apart from our second dance with New Glarus, we’ve had a chance to win all of our games dating back to the end of January. I truly feel we are playing our best basketball right now and we fully expect to roll into River Ridge and get the job done.” Heights finished the regular season with a 65-61 loss at Marshall last Thursday. The Vanguards ended the regular season 11-11 overall and 4-6 in the Northern Badger Conference. Cole Cribbs led the Vanguards with 14 points, while De’Shawn Barsness added 12. Barsness also had a pair pf explosive dunks, including one where the rim had to be re-set. “It was a neat moment,” Colby said. “It speaks to his athleticism and explosiveness, which we will need to rely on (in the postseason).” Jacob Brabender had nine points off the bench and Preston Herrling added seven. “I thought we played hard in another closely contested conference game,” Colby said. “Marshall is a really solid team and I thought we once again had a chance to beat them, it just didn’t pan out. No shame in losing to a team that’s had a great season and finished second in our league.” Now, Heights hopes to catch fire in the second season, and spring a few surprises along the way. “We feel it has been a great learning experience this season with a core group of underclassmen,” Colby said. “And you never know, we like our draw in the post-season, so if we find a way to get the job done (Tuesday), all the sudden things could get interesting. Again, no easy task but I like our frame of mind right now.”   Feb. 27 Marshall 65,  Wisconsin Heights 61 Heights ……...…… 31 30 — 61 Marshall ……..….. 36 29 — 65 WISCONSIN HEIGHTS (fg ft-fta pts) — Parman 1 0-0 3, Cribbs 5 3-4 14, Barsness 6 0-0 12, Adler 4 0-0 10, Herrling 3 0-0 7, Brabender 3 2-2 9, Hosking 2 2-2 6. Totals 24 7-8 61. MARSHALL — Chadwick 8 0-0 17, Lutz 1 0-0 3, Frank 1 3-4 6, Denniston 7 0-0 20, Timple 1 0-0 2, Ward 2 11-14 16, Killian 0 1-2 1. Totals 20 15-20 65. 3-point goals: WH 6 (Adler 2, Parman 1, Cribbs 1, Herling 1, Brabender 1); M 10 (Denniston 6, Chadwick 1, Lutz 1, Frank 1, Ward 1). Total fouls: WH 17; M 10.