Regis boys basketball clinches trip to state for first time in 11 years

OSSEO — The Eau Claire Regis boys basketball team hadn't reached the state basketball tournament since 2015. That changed on Saturday afternoon.

The Ramblers earned their fifth state appearance in program history with a 77-58 WIAA Division 4 sectional final win over Clear Lake at Osseo-Fairchild High School.

“I’m just proud of these guys,” Regis coach Connor Miller said. “They put in a lot of work. They continued to work in the offseason, in-season. They trusted us. I’m happy for them.”

The Regis players achieved a goal they had set before the season by punching their ticket to state.

“I've dreamed about this since I was a little kid,” Rambler guard Blake Risler said. “We talked about (it with) our team this whole season. It's just surreal to finally be heading down to the Kohl Center.”

“I love doing this with my family. It's awesome,” Regis guard D.J. Cooper said.

Miller will make his third appearance at the state tournament, with two prior appearances as a Rambler player in 2008’s state semifinal appearance and 2010’s state runner-up team.

Coaching a team to state in just his fourth year, Miller said, was more rewarding than playing for it.

“I had a rough start when I took over the program,” Miller said. “Seven wins and 10 wins. Those were some of the darkest days in the program.

"All the work and belief we put into these kids, and then, to have them believe us that we could make this possible, it's the most rewarding thing I've been a part of."

After trading leads in the opening minutes, Regis (23-5) utilized its defense and scoring from unsung heroes to obtain and maintain a lead Saturday.

Junior Joey Brahmer manned the middle of every defensive play Saturday. The Rambler quarterback used his length to deter many would-be Warrior layups and cleaned up the defensive glass, like he did before Cooper walked into a game-tying three to make it 11-all.

After a pair of Blake Risler free throws gave Regis the lead, Cooper, along with a pair of Chase Brogelman 3-pointers off the bench, stretched it to double digits.

“It’s what makes us so dangerous,” Miller said. “Chase came off the bench and (knocked) down two in the first half to give us that separation. Joey is another guy that does all the dirty work. He did an absolutely phenomenal job keeping them off the glass.”

The Warriors (20-8) made a run that cut the Ramblers’ lead to five. But, Regis’ response eventually rebuilt it to a 35-23 margin at the break.

Blake Risler’s first field goal, a spinning layup, started the Ramblers’ retort, and a three-quarters court, halftime buzzer-beater from brother Bennett Risler firmly set them off to victory.

“I got the board, looked up and there was one second left. I just let it go,” Bennett Risler said. “I didn't really think it was gonna go in.”

“Oh my gosh I couldn't believe it,” Blake Risler said. “We practiced one of those after every practice before a game, and I just couldn't believe that he hit that.”

Blake Risler, the Western Cloverbelt player of the year, wanted to prove his resume to Clear Lake after just seven first-half points.

The future St. John’s Johnnie knocked in his only 3-pointer of the afternoon to start the half, before meticulously finding driving lanes for layups and free throws to tie Cooper with a team-high of 21 points.

“We knew coming into the game that the two factors that were going to win us this game were defense and rebounding,” Blake Risler said. “Everyone rallied together and it was that team effort that really won us this game.”

Like he did in Thursday’s sectional semifinals, Cooper’s heart, sweat and literal blood led the Ramblers when they needed it.

After Clear Lake trimmed the lead to 13 at the midpoint, Cooper, bloodied by a first-half shoulder check to his jaw, settled the Warriors student section down with a reverse layup.

The Rambler defense puzzled the Warriors into two turnovers consecutive giveaways, leading to Cooper dishing to Brahmer for two and then Cooper muscling home a layup to stretch the Regis lead to an insurmountable game-high of 20.

“Coach gave us a good base (game plan). We stuck to it, and we just never looked back once we got the lead,” Cooper said.

Bennett Risler and Brahmer each finished with 12 points, while Brogelman and Andrew Ricciardi pitched in six and five, respectively.

Caleb Arcand led Clear Lake with a game-high 22, with a majority of his point share coming in the waning minutes.

The Kohl Center in Madison awaits the Ramblers on Thursday night.

“It's something that I've talked about with my brother for years,” Blake Risler said.

“It's been a goal and dream since I can remember,” Bennett Risler said. “We've gone to watch state as spectators the last five years, and now to be able to go play in it, it's crazy.”