WAC boys clinch share of GMC title at Indians' expense

Menomonee Falls - West Allis Central senior Tonnie Collier limped to the locker room on a sore ankle as teammates sprinted past him, each more excited than the last. In a chaotic frenzy, coaches and a few fans followed.

Collier was the last one in, wiping tears out of his eyes.

Head coach David Mlachnik leaned in and nudged his 6-foot-8 forward.

"All that hard work, huh?"

Before Collier could smile, Mlachnik became a coach again. "But it's not over yet. It's not over."

It was an emotional night for the Bulldogs and their fans. West Allis Central waited 33 years for a conference championship, while J.P. Tokoto and Menomonee Falls stood in the Bulldogs' way Friday night.

But the state's best player wasn't enough to deny them.

After the final buzzer on a 62-48 victory over Menomonee Falls, the Bulldogs were assured at least a share of the league title with Brookfield Central as they improved to 11-2 in the Greater Metro Conference. Students stormed the court and surrounded the basket as players and coaches took turns cutting down the net.

Technical turns game

A back-and-forth battle became a blowout early in the fourth quarter when Indians senior Kevin Meyers received a technical foul for punching the ball after being called for a foul. The technical was Meyers' fifth foul and disqualified him from the game, and quickly turned a one-point game into a six-point Bulldog lead. Central never looked back, leading by as many as 17.

"In the third quarter, I thought we were pressing a little bit," Mlachnik said. "We had a timeout, and I just said, 'Guys, relax. We're right where we want to be. We say we play 32 minutes all year long, and this is where winning happens.' You could tell they wanted it so bad, but they just had to relax. And after that third quarter, we just weren't going to be denied tonight."

Central senior forward Najeal McMillan, who scored a game-high 21 points, couldn't help but remember more difficult times at Central.

"It feels great," he said. "It feels unbelievable. My freshman year we just weren't very good, last year we lost to King [at regionals]. This is what I've been dreaming of since I started playing ball. It's been on my mind for a long time."

The Bulldogs stayed true to the formula that's brought them 15 wins this season - steady contributions from several players - or the "Fab Five" as Mlachnik called them. In addition to McMillan, junior guard Jarvis Garrett, senior forward Darvell Brown and Collier each added 10 points, while freshman guard Brandon Key added 11. The starting five scored all of Central's 62 points.

Falls dropped to 11-9 overall and 7-6 in league play. Tokoto led the way with 20 points, two of which came on a thunderous, high-flying dunk to tie the game late in the second quarter.

Indians head coach Dan Leffel said the technical foul was a major factor in the game's outcome.

"It goes from a one-point game to a six-point game and it killed all the flow," he said. "We were rebounding and keeping ourselves in the game, and after that, we stopped rebounding, we stopped playing the way we had been."

'Dogs contain Tokoto

Tokoto struggled early but brought Falls back with a dominant second quarter, however, McMillan said the Bulldogs did a good job containing the North Carolina-bound star.

Leffel said the loss was a setback for the Indians, who had won eight of their last nine games heading into Friday (including the now forfeited win over Central on Jan. 13), but looked ahead to WIAA tournament play. Falls hosts Waukesha West in a WIAA regional semifinal on March 2.

"We'll fine tune and be ready. We've got a tough game Tuesday with Catholic Memorial, and then we've got senior night (on Friday against West Allis Hale). So we've got our work cut out for us, and we'll be ready to go."