It was a packed gymnasium at Central High School on Tuesday night, as fans gathered to watch the top two teams in Division 2.
In the end, the away fans donning Hilltoppers gear went home happy — sweeping the season series against the Red Raiders and seeing their boys basketball team clinch the Mississippi Valley Conference title outright.
Top-ranked Onalaska, which trailed by six at halftime and as much as seven in the second half, came back to beat the No. 2-ranked Red Raiders 60-54.
Like the first matchup, back on Jan. 17, when Central ( 15-5, 8-2) got out to a 14-2 start, this time the Red Raiders opened the game with an 11-0 run.
Onalaska’s defense tightened after that, holding the Red Raiders to 33% shooting in the first half.
That defense was a catalyst coming out of the locker room, as Central missed all eight of its 3-point attempts.
The 3-point shot was also a key to Onalaska (19-1, 11-0) hanging around, until gaining the lead late in the second half.
The Hilltoppers drilled seven 3-pointers, including five by Senior Carson Arenz, who scored 22 points.
Central’s Johnny Davis had a monster game with 26 points, 15 rebounds. He needed 33 to overtake Kobe King to become the Red Raiders’ all-time leading scorer.