The road to Madison will take a familiar detour for the Gibraltar boys' basketball team as they open the WIAA Tournament on the road at Florence on Tuesday night.

 

The Vikings snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday, beating Hilbert 45-39. The Vikings had to capture the win in comeback fashion as they found themselves down at the break 20-15 thanks to seven first-half points by Brody Hein. Braden Sitte and Liam Lindenberg led the comeback as they scored 25 of the Vikings' 30 second-half points to send the team into the tournament victorious. Sitte scored 22 points in what could be his final home game, while Lindenberg poured in 15 points with three three-pointers.

 

The Bobcats snapped a three-game losing streak of their own with a 72-26 win over Bowler in their regular season finale. William Kelley (24.7 ppg) leads a Bobcats attack that cracked 75 points four times, including a 95-47 victory over Bark River-Harris (MI).

 

Tuesday marks the third time in the last six years the Bobcats and the Vikings have met in the tournament, with all previous meetings taking place in Florence. The Vikings won 59-39 last season behind 21 points from Carl Burgess and 14 from Braden Sitte, and 70-41 in 2019. However, the Bobcats got the last laugh on the gridiron this school year, beating the Vikings 52-0.

 

Tim Kowols will have the call from Florence on 105.1 The GOAT and NEWRadioSportsNetwork.com beginning at 6:45 p.m. with the pregame show followed by the tip-off at 7 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of Niagara/Lena on Friday.

 

Listen to our interview with head coach Travis Ward here