Laconia knocks off Waupun in back-and-forth contest

The gym at Waupun was packed, loud and had a playoff-type atmosphere on Saturday night.

The game lived up to the hype, for it featured 11 ties and 17 lead changes.

Laconia junior Cash Farrell broke the final tie when he drove to the rim and finished through contact, giving the Spartans a 67-65 nonconference win.

"[Coach] just told me to find an opening," Farrell said. "If I had to, I could kick it out or I had to finish."

Farrell did not leave the floor during the game, scoring 22 points on the offensive end while guarding one of the area's top players, Waupun's Aiden Hawkinson, on the other end.

He held Hawkinson, who had been averaging 31.1 points per game, to 9 on 4-for-19 shooting. That defense showed up again on the final possession when Farrell forced Hawkinson into his seventh missed 3-pointer to seal the game.

"Just a really special player, special motor, special intensity," coach Dylan Wurtz said of Farrell. "You've got to have intangibles, that's not all taught. I take credit, but I can't take credit for all that.

"Hawkinson's a special player and he held him to 9 points, then he goes all 36 minutes and finishes the game off with the last bucket. It's moments like that that kids have prepared for, for a long time."

The biggest lead for either team was Waupun's 5-point lead in the first half.

Wurtz said his team showed its toughness and resilience to earn the road win.

"A special performance from our guys to meet that moment because it's not easy," Wurtz said. "Waupun's a great team, they have players up and down that can hurt you. Our guys stepped, up met the moment and that's special.

"We've got to win these games because we're the tougher team and I think we proved we can do that tonight."

Laconia (7-1) got another excellent performance from senior Cam Smit, who scored a team-high 14 points in the first half.

He hit four 3s on the night and also went 3-for-4 from the free-throw line.

"The thing with him is that he's always had it," Wurtz said. "It was a matter of us opening some things up, coaching plays a role in all these things. We did that better; we're better coaches for him now and he's stepping up and meeting the moment."

Smit said the coaches helped him stay confident and aggressive on offense.

"Starting off slow in the season, not hitting as many shots as I would like, I've just got to stay confident," Smit said. "Coaches are helping me, making sure I stay confident and to keep shooting."

Ethan Pinno scored 15. He was 5-for-5 from the line, including two important free throws after Waupun junior Grahm Gopalan was assessed a technical foul for taunting Spartan players after a basket.

The Spartans have now had four different leading scorers over the past five games, something Wurtz said is essential for good teams.

"Cash has gotten face guarded, Ethan gets face guarded at times," Wurtz said. "Other guys got to step up if you're going to be a great team. The way we coach and play, it's together.

"It's about making the right play, the right decision and then whoever is in that spot, stepping up."

Laconia played both Friday and Saturday and go on the road to Lomira on Tuesday. Wurtz credited his team's ability to prepare for all three opponents nearly simultaneously.

"It says a ton about them because you're prepping for four games at once, really, because we only have one more day of practice before Lomira," Wurtz said. "So, it's one practice in the middle of three games and it's crazy stuff like that that tests kids, tests what they're made of."

The Warriors (6-3) got a team-high 19 from Jake Krueger and 12 from Brayden Torres.

PHOTO GALLERY: Laconia at Waupun boys basketball - 1/4/2025