Badgers Win Varsity Boys Basketball Conference Championship on Road!

On the defensive end, Wakefield set a screen for their best shooter, but Quis fought through it, and blocked the shot on the perimeter. Sin snatched the loose ball and pushed it ahead to Kemaan, giving the Badgers their first lead, 12-9. Wakefield would go on to score the next seven points, including a corner three late in the period, their fourth three point shot of the quarter. Wakefield led 16-12 after 8:00.

 

Tandem would open the second period on a quick 4-0 run! Sin got into the midrange, and tickled the twine with his jumper. Isaac used a smooth euro-step, and got all the way to the rim. All the while, Tandem was extending our defense, putting pressure on Wakefield's guards. As a result, they forced up contested, rushed shots. It was 16-16 before Wakefield got hot again, scoring five straight halfway through the second.

 

Working out of a double team, Sean passed the ball to Isaac on the left wing. Isaac swung the ball to Sin, who launched a beautiful three point shot from the corner. Yahtzee! Just like in the Hunger Games, Sin would catch fire, and go on to hit another moments later, tying the game. He had eight of his fourteen in the second! Wakefield tried to respond by pushing the ball in transition. They dribbled deep into the paint, but Isaac reached up and invited the whole crowd to his block party!  

 

The game was tied at 23-23 before Wakefield went on a scoring run late in the quarter. Their lead grew to ten at nine, but the Badgers remained calm. After all, the team was down 9 the other night with four minutes to go and found a way to win! Tre pushed the ball and passed to Sean in the middle. Sean found Isaac lurking on the wing for a three with four seconds to go, and Tandem was able to make the deficit manageable, just a two possession game, down 33-27 at halftime.

 

In the third quarter, Quis worked the ball to Kemaan off a skip pass into the corner. Kemaan took the ball to the rim, scored and drawing a foul. The Badgers trailed by four 35-31. After Kemaan cleared a rebound on the other end, Isaac found Sin for another three, cutting the lead to one point. With that shot, Sin broke the 1,000 point mark for his high school career! Congratulations Sin!

 

On the next defensive possession, Quis and Tre worked together to trap at the top of the key and strip the ball away from a frustrated Wakefield backcourt, and Quis dribbled it the length of the floor for two of his eight points on the night. The Badgers took a 36-35 lead, their first of the second half. After Quis forced a tough shot resulting in a long rebound, Isaac and Sin led a two on one fast break. Isaac drew the defense and dumped the ball off to Sin, and the Badgers were rolling.  Late in the quarter, Tre made a beautiful entry pass to Sean, who turned to the basket and scored easily. Wakefield would score a few more threes, but the home team was held to only nine points in the period! The Badgers entered the final 8:00 tied at 42-42.

 

As the Badgers broke the huddle to start the fourth, Sin turned to Tre. "I trust you," he told him, and Tre obliged, forcing a difficult shot and collecting the loose ball. Tre threw the ball ahead to Isaac, who scored with the smooth footwork that is incredibly elite but standard fare for our junior leader. The Badgers took the lead, but only for a moment - Wakefield responded with a three. The next time down, the Badgers worked the ball back inside to Sean, who scored 6 of his 14 in the final period. He missed his initial shot, but got his own rebound, and drew the foul as he nonchalantly went back up. The Badgers were back ahead by 1.

 

There was 2:38 to go - and the game was tied - so Isaac went to work.  First he walked his defender slowly towards the goal, popped back out, and then drove to the rim - scoring on the left side and drawing a foul in the process! The Badgers led by 2, but Wakefield got into the paint for a bucket on the other end. The game was tied again, 1:23 left on the clock.

 

Tandem was content to hold for the last shot, but Sin got into the paint and Wakefield fouled him. Sin made one free throw, earning the Badgers a 55-54 lead. On the ensuing possession, the opponent passed the ball into the high post, where Wakefield's point guard turned and fired a shot over the outstretched arms of Quis. Isaac snatched the rebound, and was quickly fouled. Late in the game, there is nobody you would rather have on the line. Isaac was ice cold - he went to the line and calmly made both shots, giving him a team high 16 points. Tandem led 57-54 with 7.1 to go.

 

Wakefield called timeout, and I spent the 30 seconds explaining to Jocelyn why teams should ALWAYS foul in this situation and not allow the other team to have a three point attempt. Coach Sam agrees, and Sin wasted no time in executing that strategy. As soon as Wakefield caught the ball, Sin gave a foul, eliminating the possibility that Wakefield could shoot a three and tie the game. Wakefield missed the first shot, but made the second. The Badgers got the ball back to Isaac, who went to the line.

 

With seven seconds to go, Tandem was ahead 57-55 as Wakefield desperately tried to get the ball up the court. Meanwhile, Mason battled three different Wakefield players for the loose ball. 6 seconds. 5 seconds. 4 seconds remained as Mason knocked the ball away from a Wakefield guard and it rolled to the corner. With three seconds left, Wakefield came out of the pack, and launched a 70 footer. I held Tandem in the light as the shot flew through the air, hit the top of the backboard, and fell harmlessly to the ground. The clock expired, and the GPAC championship was complete!  

 

Congratulations to the Tandem Boys Varsity Badgers, 2025-2026 GPAC Champions! Grinding at 6:30 AM for the last six months, this team has taken on all challengers! The Badgers used all of that experience and hard work to peak at the right time and are winners of their last five consecutive games! The win streak includes a big win against #7 New Covenant, an epic back and forth win on Senior Night, and two big-time post-season wins: a come from behind victory against RMA in the Semi-Finals on Wednesday, and a massive win this evening, 57-55 in the GPAC Championship Game!

 

Congratulations to Coaches Sam, Denzel and Mary for all of their hard work so far this season. With great talent comes great responsibility, and our coaching staff has put this team in a position to succeed time and time again. Taking home the conference championship - and doing it on the road - is well deserved icing on the cake! I am grateful for you and proud of you!

 

Enormous thank you to our LOUD CROWD - led by a trio of seniors who made a ton of noise, and some awesome parents who made the long journey! It was awesome to see so many of you there - two hours away for a 4:00 tip-off. We were just as noisy as the home fans, and it made a big difference!

 

The action continues next week in the state tournament on Tuesday - time and location to be announced. Stay tuned!

 

Go Badgers! WE ARE THE 2025-2026 BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL GPAC CHAMPIONS!