Just over their first meeting came down to the final minutes, Onalaska and Winlock met again on Saturday. It was just as close this time around, and a layup at the buzzer from Maddox McKinley was the difference in the Loggers’ 56-54 win.

“It was kind of like a reversal of the home game we had against them,” Onalaska coach Fred Sturza said. “It was a blast. It seems like every time Onalaska and Winlock play, it’s always gonna come down to games like this.”

The Loggers held a two-point lead with about 20 seconds to play, but Winlock’s Freddy Patching was able to drive inside and tie the game with a lay-up of his own with less than 10 seconds remaining.

Sturza said he had the urge to call a timeout, but he thought back to something former Onalaska basketball coach Dennis Bower taught him.

“If you’ve got a team that plays fast, don’t call a time out,” Sturza said. “I sat on my last 30-second timeout.”

The Loggers proved him and his staff right, as Blaze Underhill fired a pass up the court to McKinley, who went up and under for the game-winner.

“The guys were excited in the locker room,” Sturza said. “To have a win like that where they can really celebrate together is huge.”

Not only did McKinley hit the game-winner, but he was Onalaska’s leading scorer with 16 points. Underhill finished with 12, while Case McGraw added 11 and Ethan Thayer added 10.

Patching and Landen Cline both scored 18 to lead the Cardinals, while Arean Thapa added six and Carter Svenson logged five. Jaxyn Pelagio added four points and seven rebounds, while Cline dished out four assists.

Winlock (4-11, 3-9 C2BL) will hit the road to face Pe Ell on Tuesday, while Onalaska (8-8, 6-6 C2BL) will return home to face Toledo on Wednesday.