Playing at home, Florence took Tri-County to the wire in a WIAA Division 5 tournament opener on Tuesday before falling 59-55.

“I’m proud of my team’s effort and how far we came this year,” Bobcats coach Bryan Bomberg said. “We asked players to play out of position, dealt with low numbers and competed hard — as a coach, you cannot ask for more. Too boot, we played one of the toughest schedules, playing four ranked teams in D5.”

Against Tri-County, the Bobcats were unable to get the ball inside, Bomberg said.

“We settled for mid-range jumpers and too many three balls,” he said. “We just could not get shots to fall. We shot 33 percent from the floor and 40 percent from the free throw line. Those numbers are not going to win you ball games.”

Carson Chrisman led the Bobcats with 20 points and Bradly Steber added 15. The Penguins got 17 points from RJ Meddaugh and 16 from Gage Beggs.

Tri-County, of Plainfield, Wis., improved to 8-11 overall, while Florence finishes at 11-12. The Penguins will travel to top-seeded Tigerton on Friday.

“I want to thank our lone senior, Truth Setner, for his contributions to our basketball program,” Bomberg said. “It was a pleasure being his coach, watching him get his 1,000th career point and adding himself to the FHS history books and having a fine career overall.”

Tigerton (25-0) defeated Goodman-Pembine (6-17) on Tuesday, 82-34.

In Oshkosh on Tuesday, Niagara (13-12) dropped its Division 5 tournament opener to Lourdes Academy, 66-44.

Tri-County: Hildebrandt 4, Miller 5, Vega 10, Meddaugh 17, Rasmussen 2, Beggs 16, Boyd 5. FT: 7-9. 3-point FG: Miller, Vega, Meddaugh, Beggs 4, Boyd.

Florence: Chrisman 20, Steber 15, T. Setner 5, Spears 8, P. Setner 2, Koski 5. FT: 9-21. 3-point FG: Chrisman 2, Steber, Spears.

PREP SCORES

Tuesday, March 3

BOYS

MHSAA Playoffs

Regional Semifinals

Division 2

Kingsford 56, Cheboygan 42

Ludington 82, Gladwin 58

Division 3

Menominee 59, Ishpeming Westwood 46

Elk Rapids 55, East Jordan 42

Division 4

Dollar Bay 72, Wakefield-Marenisco Gogebic 39

North Dickinson 65, Crystal Falls Forest Park 59

Pickford 72, Rudyard 47

Division 1

Marquette 60, Mount Pleasant 56

Rockford 50, Saginaw United 45

WIAA Playoffs

Regional First Round

Division 4

Crivitz 54, Coleman 18

Oconto 70, Shiocton 66

Spencer 58, Crandon 49

Division 5

Green Bay N.E.W. Lutheran 81, St. Thomas Aquinas 68

Tigerton 82, Goodman-Pembine 34

Tri-County 59, Florence 55

Laona-Wabeno 94, Wild Rose 37

Lourdes Academy 66, Niagara 44

Oneida Nation 67, Stockbridge 57

Three Lakes 81, Marion 52