Five Takeaways From La Crosse Central-Onalaska
ONALASKA — Two top five squads in Division 2 squared off Thursday night. With first place in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the balance, No. 3 La Crosse Central (16-2) upended Onalaska (16-4) 62-52 on the road. The Mississippi Valley…
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Continue ReadingONALASKA — Two top five squads in Division 2 squared off Thursday night. With first place in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the balance, No. 3 La Crosse Central (16-2) upended Onalaska (16-4) 62-52 on the road.
The Mississippi Valley Still Runs Through Central
For three-straight seasons, La Crosse Central has won the Mississippi Valley Conference. In all three of those seasons, Onalaska has finished as the runner-up.
After Thursday’s contest, those streaks will extend to four years.
With a 10-0 record in league play, the Red Raiders clinched the conference title. At 9-2, the Hilltoppers have locked in the second spot
Onalaska Has Closed the Gap
Let’s not hand La Crosse Central its fourth-straight trip to the state tournament just yet. Beating Onalaska in the playoffs won’t be an easy task for the Red Raiders, who continued to own this series and stand in the way of the Hilltoppers from not only a conference title, but a trip to Madison as well.
On Thursday, the Hilltoppers held a 25-20 lead at the half and trailed by just one point heading into the break in the first meeting. It’s been the second half where Onalaska has let things get away, being outscored by an average of 16 points in those two losses.
With both teams being seeded highly in March, a third battle likely looms in regional play.
Davis Remains Criminally Underrated
When you look at most national recruiting rankings, you won’t see Johnny Davis listed even in the top 150.
We get it. He’s a shooting guard that doesn’t necessarily shoot it all that well. His offer list has also stayed relatively similar for over a year. But we won’t make the mistake of turning our heads in another direction when it comes to evaluating Davis within the state and his future impact at the Division 1 level.
Davis scored 27 points to go along with 14 rebounds in Thursday’s win. If there’s a prospect in this state that plays harder than Davis, we haven’t seen it. The 6-foot-4 junior was just vicious against Onalaska — attacking the glass, blocking shots, and finishing relentlessly around the rim.
Without a reliable jumper, Davis may not put up huge scoring numbers at the next level, but he’ll be an instant impact kid that will find a way to get on the floor and stay there.
Arenz, Stuttley Ready to Break Out
We already had Carson Arenz as one of our breakout players to watch this season. His teammate, Tyrell Stuttley, is ready to join him.
Stuttley didn’t have a great performance, but showed some flashes and we’ve seen enough this season to know that he’ll have a big spring. Also when Davis, the best defender on the floor, starts getting after you and giving you attention, you’re doing something right.
The strong, athletic lefty is an intriguing forward who can take the ball to the rim, shoot it from 3-point range, and even take advantage of mismatches on the block. An active and bouncy prospect, Stuttley can impact the game defensively as well.
Arenz continues to shoot the ball tremendously well. The 6-foot-4 forward won’t blow you away athletically, but always seems to be able to get himself open, set his feet, and get rhythm jumpers. Arenz played especially well in the pick n’ pop game, scoring 16 points, including four 3-pointers.
Can Central Stand Up to Nicolet/Washington?
Everyone wants to hand Nicolet or Milwaukee Washington the Divison 2 state championship. The big question right now, can La Crosse Central stand in their way?
Assuming the Red Raiders to book a trip back to the Kohl Center, they will have made their fourth-straight trip to Madison. The Red Raiders reached the semifinals last season, falling 70-58 to Washington, who isn’t nearly as deep this season, but just added transfer Tre White, one of the top class of 2022 prospects in the country.
One thing we know about Central, it’s very tough to run away from them.
Aside from the loss to Brookfield Central this season, a game where Ben Nau came out and hit his first six 3-pointers, the Red Raiders don’t get blown out. Before that game, you can’t find another loss on Central’s schedule with Davis, Noah Parcher, or Jordan Davis on the roster where things got out of hand.
On paper, the Red Raiders don’t stack up, but they play a methodical style and hard-nosed defense that could rattle a Nicolet or a Washington in front of a likely sold out Kohl Center. The most important pieces — they have a ton of state experience and a chip on the shoulder as nobody expects them to put up a fight against either squad.