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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – The Stratford boys basketball team’s style of tenacious defense and hustle was on full display Friday night in a nonconference game against Stanley-Boyd.
The Tigers forced 18 turnovers, held Stanley-Boyd to 32 percent shooting, and used a 10-point spurt in the first half to pull in front for good as they went on to win 57-35 at Stratford High School.
Drew Bruesewitz made 11 of 12 free throws in the final 2:45 to ice the win, Stratford’s fifth in a row as it improves to 9-1 this season.
“We were a little flat offensively in the first half, but we were pretty dynamic defensively for the whole game,” Stratford coach Curt Schmidt said. “We weren’t able to push the ball up the floor as much as I would have liked against their bigger guys, but I thought our shot selection and our ability to take care of the ball was pretty good.”
A sluggish start for both teams had Stanley-Boyd holding a slim 5-4 lead halfway through the first half before Stratford finally got its offense going.
Five different Tigers scored in a 10-0 run that helped build a 14-5 lead and Stratford led the rest of the way.
Stratford led 18-11 at halftime and opened up the second half on fire as Kaden Foster hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Bruesewitz added another as the Tigers went on top 29-16.
Stanley-Boyd went nearly six minutes without scoring as Stratford pushed its lead to 41-23 after another Bruesewitz 3-pointer.
A 7-0 run by the Orioles cut the deficit to 11 but that would be as close as they would get as the Tigers were able to close out the game at the free throw line.
After Stratford missed six of seven attempts, Bruesewitz took over, making sure he was the one to get the ball as Stanley-Boyd attempted to extend the game by fouling. The senior guard made 11 of 12 at the line, including four in a row following a foul and a technical foul with 1:05 to go, to finish off the victory. He finished with a game-high 23 points.
“I thought we did a really good job on the front end of our defense, which helped jam up the lane a little bit more,” Schmidt said. “I thought our guys did a really good job with ball pressure and handling their up-and-down screens. We handled it well.”
Stanley-Boyd (5-3) finished just 14-for-43 from the field, making only three of 11 free throws and four of 20 3-point attempts.
Stratford is back in action next Friday, Jan. 10, at Abbotsford for a Marawood crossover game.
Tigers 57, Orioles 35
Stanley-Boyd 11 24 – 35
Stratford 18 39 – 57
STANLEY-BOYD (35): Jackson Gindt 1-7 1-2 3, Brenner Myers 0-2 0-0 0, Logan Gray 7-15 0-1 16, Carson Woodcock 0-0 0-0 0, Carter Isenberger 0-5 2-6 2, Jesse Allard 0-1 0-0 0, Charlie Hoel 6-10 0-1 14, Troy Haas 0-1 0-1 0, Josiah Demske 0-2 0-0 0. FG: 14-43. FT: 3-11. 3-pointers: 4-20 (Hoel 2-3, Gray 2-6, Allard 0-1, Haas 0-1, Isenberger 0-2, Myers 0-2, Gindt 0-5). Rebounds: 30 (Demske 7). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 20. Technical foul: Isenberger. Fouled out: Gindt, Isenberger. Record: 5-3.
STRATFORD (57): Caleb Wrensch 1-2 0-0 2, Alec Chapel 2-5 0-0 4, Jett Schoenherr 2-2 2-5 6, Drew Bruesewitz 5-9 11-12 23, Riley Spindler 1-3 0-0 2, Brooks Vanderhoof 3-5 1-2 7, Brady Berg 2-3 0-0 4, Kaden Foster 3-9 0-2 9. FG: 19-38. FT: 14-21. 3-pointers: 5-13 (Foster 3-7, Bruesewitz 2-2, Berg 0-1, Spindler 0-1, Chapel 0-2). Rebounds: 24 (Chapel 4, Bruesewitz 4, Spindler 4, Vanderhoof 4). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-1.