Top-ranked Central heads into state semifinals Friday with 24-game win streak
The top-ranked Central High School boys basketball team is back in familiar territory Friday — the Division 2 state tournament.
The tourney kicked off Thursday, back at the Kohl Center for the first time in three years. One of those games was a West Salem win in its first-ever tournament berth.
As for the top-ranked Riverhawks, they put their 24-game win streak on the line against Westosha Central, who ended the regular season ranked fifth.
DIVISION 2 semifinal
Central (27-1) vs. Westosha Central (25-2), 3 p.m. (approximate)
DIVISION 5 semifinal
Randolph vs. Gibraltar, 9:05 a.m.
Bangor vs. 3 Hurley, 10:30 a.m. (approximate)
This is the fifth state tournament for Central since 2016 — there was no state tourney in 2020.
Central has lost three of its last four state semifinals over that span. The only season they didn’t qualify for state since 2016 was last year. Of those four berths, the Riverhawks won the title in 2017, beating Cedarburg 55-53.
Central at state since 2016
2021: Didn’t qualify
2020: State tournament cancelled due to COVID-19
2019: Central lost in semis 71-70 in overtime to Milwaukee Washington.
2018: Lost 70-58 to Milwaukee Washington in semis.
2017: Won state title, beating Cedarburg 55-53.
2016: Lost in semis 72-45 to Kaukauna.