Hot-shooting Stanley-Boyd sinks Raiders in regional semifinal

A winning regular season earned Arcadia the opportunity to play at home in its playoff opener. But a hot-shooting Stanley-Boyd squad spoiled the chance for the Raiders to treat their home fans to a postseason victory.

No. 5 seed Stanley-Boyd (15-12) turned aside No. 4 seed Arcadia (13-12) 63-51 in their Division 3 regional semifinal clash last Friday at the Wanek Center. Stanley-Boyd narrowly lost 49-44 to No. 1 seed Elk Mound in Saturday’s regional finals.

The Orioles set the tone with a scoring barrage in the first half on Friday, hitting a handful of threes and going 13 of 15 from the charity stripe in the opening 18 minutes to build a 36-26 halftime advantage.

Though the Raiders got themselves within striking distance a couple of times in the second half, they were unable to get over the hump as Stanley-Boyd fought off their comeback attempts.

Arcadia’s leading scorers included Ted Teske with 14 points, Nolan Smith with 13 points, Carter Wegman with nine points and the duo of Kaiden Rotering and Trevor Pronschinske with six points each.

Stanley-Boyd’s Brenner Myers poured in 22 points (including five three-pointers) and Charlie Hoel tacked on 15 points in the win. As a team, the Orioles shot 60 percent from the field and were nine of 15 from the outside.

“Stanley played very well. They drew a lot of confidence from their perimeter shots falling,” said Arcadia head coach Ryan Sonnentag. “Two early fouls on Ted hurt as we had to adjust our lineup and they’re a tough team athletically to match with. We had opportunities in second half, cut it to five a couple times and couldn’t make the winning plays.”

That season-ending loss meant this year’s group of Arcadia seniors took the floor at the Wanek Center for the final time. That group included multi-year varsity starters Rotering and Teske along with Smith, Deshawn Conner, James Olmos and Johnny Hernandez.

“It will be tough to not see these guys in the gym next year,” Sonnentag said. “Ted and Kaiden have been with our varsity team for three and four years, respectfully. They’ve helped build our program and leave a legacy for younger players to strive towards. Nolan added a physicality, playmaking and tough mindset to our team that we will miss. Deshaun, James and Johnny are fantastic teammates. Most of all, all of them are outstanding young men.”

Sonnentag believes there is strong potential lying ahead for Arcadia basketball, but that the returning and younger players need “a fire to get better” to make sure they can achieve their ceiling.

“We had a mix of youth and experience this year,” Sonnentag said. “The younger guys have potential to become great, but it takes work and commitment to be great. Potential means nothing if you don’t do anything to reach it.”