WATERTOWN - Levi Birkholz dunked 3-pointers to close each half, and they were the difference for the Lakeside Lutheran.



The 6-foot-2 junior hit a straight 25-foot triple in the closing seconds of regulation to give the Warriors a 52-51 Capital North win over Luther Prep in the LPS on Tuesday.


Luther Prep (3-4, 1-1 in the conference) opened the game at 11-2, capped by Ben Wasold's three-point play with 11 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first half. Birkholz, who scored Lakeside's lone points early on the transition dunk, pulled the Warriors back into it with a three-point game of his own. He finished with 12 of his team's high 17 points in the first half, including 3 points from the top in the final seconds, reducing Luther Prep's lead to 25–20.


The Warriors came out in the second period and made a five-point lead of their own. Lakeside was nearly ahead until the two-minute mark when Phoenix rallied to lead 50-48 with 1 minute, 30 seconds.


Luther Prep split a pair down the line and had a minute left to go three minutes ahead. Phoenix secured the board and was once again fouled in the bonus, missing the first attempt. Lakeside countered with the score of a set play to pull within 51–49 and took the ball back with 16 seconds remaining and called a timeout. Off the break, the Warriors produced an isolation play for Birkholz.


"I thought he'd make it to the hole," said Lakeside Lutheran boys' basketball coach Todd Jahns. "If they helped, we had Trey (Lauber) in front of us where we were going to drive. Levi surveyed with the ball over the key and they sat tight in the paint, so he decided he wasn't going to drive." Baskets without pulling two, three or four people. He dribbled and cleared the point with four seconds left.


"To be able to persevere and get through with the win was good to learn and keep going. It's a lesson that you have to be willing to let go of no matter what you're playing for.


"Our defense was consistent and gave us the lead. We fought aggressively one night, yet we put ourselves in a winning position by playing a good halfcourt defense."


The warriors faced a hostile environment in front of a packed house in the LPS.


"A ton of credit to Luther Prep, they were full of energy," Johns said. "Their crowd was large and outspoken. It was a hostile environment to play in. We knew it was a competition they were meant to play. They got us back on our heels quickly. Happy with our people that we had a Faced with a hostile environment and done don't crack. We've found a way to win."


Lakeside (9-2, 3-0) remained behind a balanced attack with eight Warriors scoring goals. Junior Trey Lauber scored all 10 of his points after the break for the Warriors.


Senior Tom Bulge scored a game-high 28 points to lead Luther Prep, remaining three seconds off the halfcourt in regulation, but didn't get the final look to go.


"We got a good look, but it just wasn't meant to be," said Luther Prep boys' basketball coach Steve Wasold.


Phoenix came out with great defensive intensity and took advantage of cold shooting by the Warriors to score early in the transition. Marcus Fitzsimmons added 14 for Phoenix.


"We've been working on our defensive intensity all week, and people are buying in," Wasold said. "I thought defensively we did our best all year. I'm really happy with that. They're a good team that's well trained. They don't make mistakes. They played a good helping side defense and some in the second half. Things changed which caused us some trouble.


“Overall, I was really pleased with the energy of my boys. They poured their hearts out and wanted it badly. Lakeside won it, we didn’t lose it. They did what they needed to do.”


Lakeside travels to face Edgewood on Friday.


Lakeside 52, Luther Prep 51


Lakeside 20 32 - 52


Luther Prep 25 26 - 51


Lakeside (FG FT-FTA TP) - Lober 5 0-0 10, Miller 2 3-6 7, Yahnke 1 1-1 3, Schuetz 1 1-1 3, Rinke 1 0-0 2, Birkholz 6 3-3 17 , Schmidt 2 0-1 4, Misnaming 1 0-2 3, Learman 1 1-2 3 Total 209-14 52


Luther Prep (FG ft-fta TP) - Wasold 2 1-1 6, Balz 13 2-4 28, Gus 0 1-2 1, Koelpin 2 0-0 4, Fitzsimmons 7 0-1 14 Total 22 5-10 51