DeForest boys basketball squeeze past Watertown in regional opener

Cool. Calm. Collected.

Tied at 50 apiece with just 3.1 seconds remaining, DeForest freshman guard Ben Pritzl sank two free throws in the bonus to lift the No. 7-seeded Norskies (12-13) past the No. 10-seeded Watertown Goslings (5-20) by a final score of 52-50 in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 2 regional opener on Tuesday, March 3, at DeForest High School.

DeForest freshman guard Ben Pritzl — pictured during the Norskies’ regular season finale against Waunakee on Feb. 26 — sank two go-ahead free throws with 3.1 seconds remains in regulation to give DeForest the 52-50 victory over Watertown in the regional opener on Tuesday, March 3, at DeForest High School.

Pritzl, who averages double figures for the Norskies at 11.6 PPG, notably went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe as DeForest crawled out of a 50-46 deficit with under three minutes remaining in the second half.

DeForest — who led 32-26 at the half — was guided by an all-around performance from senior guard Brooks Ohmen, who scored 12 points, corralled four rebounds, dished five assists and forced three steals.

Meanwhile, sophomore guard Jayden Doedens made his long-awaited return to the hardwood, scoring 11 points with five rebounds in the Norskies’ winning effort.

Doedens has been a crucial asset in the Norskies’ backcourt this season, averaging 16.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.1 APG and 2.3 SPG, according to Bound Wisconsin. However, an injury kept the 6-foot guard sidelined for nine games, with his previous appearance on Jan. 20 during the Norskies’ 76-51 win over Waunakee.

With the win on Tuesday, DeForest advances to the regional semifinals, where they will face a familiar opponent: the Beaver Dam Golden Beavers.

Beaver Dam, seeded No. 2 in Sectional No. 3 of the Division 2 field, has defeated DeForest twice this season by scores of 82-61 on Jan. 6 and 62-49 on Feb. 12.

Beaver Dam (18-6) earned a share of the Badger-Large Conference title with Waunakee thanks to a 10-4 record against inter-conference foes.

The Norskies’ regional semifinal matchup with the Golden Beavers will take place on Friday, March 6, at Beaver Dam High School.

If DeForest wins, they will await the winner of either No. 3 seed Wauwatosa West, the reigning D2 state champions, or No. 6 seed Milwaukee Lutheran on Saturday, March 7, for a chance to secure a regional title. Because DeForest is the lower-seeded team, that game will also be on the road.

According to the WIAA, all games this weekend are listed for 7 p.m.