State Champions: Panthers bringing gold ball home

By David Nordby

The Brillion News

MADISON – 1946 Reedsville Panthers, meet the 2026 group that lived up to the history that you made 80 years ago.

The Panthers are bringing a gold ball home to Reedsville after outlasting Southwestern 56-48 in Saturday’s WIAA Division 5 state championship game at the Kohl Center in Madison.

“I told them they’re going to be state champions forever. Nobody can ever take that away from them. It had been 80 years in the making in Reedsville. Pretty special,” Coach Ron Prochnow said.

Pretty special indeed.

It took one final performance from Reedsville’s solidified unit to hold off a feisty Wildcats team. The game was tied at 40 with 10 minutes left and the second half was a struggle with a much slower pace than the first half.

Like in other postseason games, the team that was known for its run-and-gun style earlier in the year, came through on defense first limiting Southwestern to just 15 points over the final 18 minutes.

Arden Strenn finished with a game-high 20 points and 14 rebounds. Ben Prochnow scored 19 points.

Strenn scored a driving layup with 6:10 left to make it 44-40 in favor of the Panthers. That ended a more than three-minute scoring drought by both teams.

Was Coach Prochnow worried in the second half when the game became a slugfest?

“I was worried in the first half already,” Coach Prochnow said with a laugh. “It became a grinder, but we’ve been in some of those as well. Probably not to say that’s how we want to play.”

Prochnow, Strenn and William Taddy made key free throws down the stretch to hold Southwestern off. A Prochnow free throw with 1:44 left made it a three-possession game.

“It could have gone either way,” Coach Prochnow said. “We came through and did what we had to do.”

As the Panthers held off Southwestern’s comeback attempts, rebounding became paramount. Strenn grabbed 14 of the Panthers’ 33 rebounds. The Wildcats had 29.

“Probably the first time all year that we’ve lost the rebounding battle,” Southwestern Coach Clinton Nemitz said. “We couldn’t get any second-chance opportunities.”

When the Panthers were able to push the pace, they took advantage. Reedsville outscored Southwestern 13-0 on fastbreak points.

“Credit to Reedsville they just kept pushing and pushing and pushing, just like they did yesterday against Sheboygan Lutheran (in the semifinal),” Nemitz said.

Players scrapped for loose balls and tipped passes for rebounds. There was lockdown defense in the second half, limiting Remi Lawrence and Aiden Keleher below their season scoring averages.  

Taddy’s defense was again a standout.

“He takes the best scorer, best shooter a lot of times and that’s his first role,” Coach Prochnow said.

Taddy also scored nine points on offense. Other players stepped up in their roles – Jack Schwahn made two 3-point baskets in stride as he did all season and Zach Prochnow played physical defense. Connor McDonald and Nathan Christensen provided minutes off the bench.

Then there was Prochnow, who put the final touches on his scoring total that was already the best in Reedsville history. He finished the state tournament with 45 points, 17 assists and nine rebounds.

“You can tell he’s a very smart player,” Southwestern’s Aiden Keleher said. “If all of you aren’t in the right spot, he’s going to make you pay for it.”

“He might be the best player we’ve seen all year, and he was special,” Nemitz added.

By midday Saturday, the village of Reedsville could celebrate its second state basketball championship and third title in school history overall, also joining the 2021 football Panthers.

“I think it’ll slowly sink in as we get to go see some of the fans upstairs and talk with family and just realize, like, dang we went out as number one and we won it all,” Prochnow said.

For Coach Prochnow, he said the moment sunk in when he looked up at the big screen at the Kohl Center and it read “Reedsville 2026 state champions.” All he could do at that moment was put his hands on his head and say wow.

Strenn summed it up succinctly, in a way that most of Reedsville is feeling right now.

“I can’t explain what I’m feeling right now. Just happiness.”

A parade and celebration for Reedsville will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Expanded coverage of Reedsville’s state championship will be featured in the March 26, 2026 print edition of The Brillion News.

Southwestern       33 15 – 48

Reedsville             35 21 – 56

Southwestern: Remi Lawrence 13, Aiden Keleher 13, Cayden DeMuth 13, Carsen Splinter 7, Sam Martin 2. Total: 21-55; 3-point: 5-24; FT: 1-3. 3-point: Keleher 2, Lawrence, Splinter, DeMuth. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: Splinter.

Reedsville: Arden Strenn 20, Ben Prochnow 19, William Taddy 9, Jack Schwahn 6, Zach Prochnow 2. Totals: 20-45; 3-point: 5-13; FT: 11-15. 3-point: Strenn 3, Scwahn 2. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none.