Arcadia pulls off wild comeback win over Viroqua

A 17-point deficit. Four key rotation players fouled out. Two chaotic overtimes. 

The Arcadia boys basketball team had many reasons why they could’ve lost on the road against Viroqua late last week. Instead, behind a career night by senior Kaiden Rotering, the Raiders dug deep, rallied back and pulled off their most improbable win of the season.

Arcadia (8-7, 4-3 Coulee) outlasted the Blackhawks (4-9, 1-6) for a wild 75-72 victory in double overtime last Friday in Viroqua. That certainly did not seem like it was destined to be the result when the Raiders trailed by 17 in the second half, but they continuously chipped away at the deficit and put themselves within striking distance.

Rotering provided a jolt of energy by nailing threes on back-to-back possessions to trim the Viroqua lead from 14 to eight. The Raiders, who got themselves into the bonus just six minutes into the second half, only trailed by two when Max Blaschko made a layup and was fouled with six seconds left in regulation.

Though Blaschko couldn’t complete the and-1 opportunity with a free throw to give his team the late lead, his bucket was still enough to force overtime.

The Blackhawks missed a couple crucial free throws in the first overtime session and the Raiders kept hanging on to get to a second OT. Once there, Rotering and Carter Wegman combined for layups on three straight possessions to build a six-point lead.

Though Viroqua still had a chance to tie it in the final seconds of the second overtime, Arcadia got the final defensive stop it needed to close out its improbable victory.

Rotering went off for a career-high 31 points to lead the charge in the Raider win, aided by Wegman with 14 and Nolan Smith with 10 in the scoring department. For the Blackhawks, Matthew Weston and Benson McDowell each scored 18 points while Kolten Peterson and Solomon Murdock chipped in 10 apiece.

Arcadia pulled off the comeback win despite Smith, Ted Teske, Deklyn Grzadzielewski all fouling out in regulation, Blaschko fouling out in overtime and Rotering playing both OT periods with four fouls.

“We had to call upon some guys who haven’t gotten a ton of minutes this year and they stepped up big time,” said Arcadia head coach Ryan Sonnentag. “Sophomore Jonah Slaby and senior Deshaun Conner stepped up huge for us. It’s the definition of a team win and next man up philosophy. We were fortunate to get out of there with a win, but we’ll take it.”

Arcadia 77 BRF 57

The Raiders rode a 21-point halftime lead to a comfortable 77-57 victory over the Tigers (2-11, 2-5) in their Coulee clash last Thursday at the Black River Falls Fieldhouse.

Rotering finished the game with 19 points and six rebounds for the Raiders, Teske posted a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds, Wegman added 12 points and Smith recorded eight points and 14 rebounds.

The Raiders, who have now won three in a row, will look for another conference victory when they host Westby Friday at 7 p.m. After the weekend, they have a non-conference road game against Bangor on Monday at 7 p.m.