This story is sponsored by: American Family Insurance-Randy LeMoine Agency
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – One six-minute stretch early in the second half made all the difference for Neillsville during Friday’s Cloverbelt Conference East Division boys basketball season-finale against Spencer.
In fact, it was the play of one person, Andrew Hoeser, that was the deciding factor. Hoeser made five 3-pointers in a little less than six minutes, turning a one-point deficit into a seven-point lead for the Warriors, who went on to defeat Spencer 67-56 at the Spencer Dome.
Hoeser’s spurt sparked a 18-10 run that broke things open for Neillsville, which defeated Spencer for the second time in a week. Hoeser finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds to pace the Warriors (9-13, 9-5 Cloverbelt East).
Spencer (14-9, 7-7 Cloverbelt East) used an 8-0, which began with a 3-pointer from Weston Nieman, to give the Rockets a 16-7 lead midway through the first half.
Breckin Miller hit a pair of 3s, and added a steal and layup, to help Spencer go up 25-16 before a flurry by Neillsville changed the mood.
The Warriors forced turnovers on four-straight Spencer possessions and cashed in on each as Hoeser scored twice inside and Micah Ziebel nailed a pair of 3-pointers. Suddenly, Neillsville had a 26-25 lead going into halftime.
After another 3 from Neillsville’s Zion Jones, Spencer was able to settle in. Hoeser made the first of his five 3s before the Rockets took a 35-34 lead on a 3-pointer from Mathers McHone from the top of the key.
Hoeser responded with another from long range, only to see Sam Bezlyk score for Spencer and the Rockets led 38-37.
A free throw from Kaiden Strey tied it and then Hoeser hit three more 3-pointers, two from five feet behind the arc, and Neillsville went up 49-42 with 8:52 remaining.
This time, Spencer could not answer.
After two free throws from Bezlyk, Neillsville ripped off nine points in a row, which included its 11th 3-pointer of the game, this time from Adam Hoeser, and surged ahead by 14.
Bezlyk scored seven of his team-high 23 points in a one-minute spurt, but the Rockets could not get closer than nine the rest of the way. Bezlyk also had a game-high 14 points in the loss.
Neillsville will host Durand-Arkansaw for a nonconference game on Monday, before both Spencer and the Warriors wrap up their regular-season schedules with road games in the Cloverbelt Conference Crossovers on Thursday.
The WIAA playoff brackets will be released on Sunday morning, with regionals starting on March 4.
Warriors 67, Rockets 56
Neillsville 26 41 – 67
Spencer 25 31 – 56
NEILLSVILLE (67): Alex Strey 0-0 0-0 0, Landon Rakestraw 4-9 4-4 14, Andrew Hoeser 9-16 0-0 23, Micah Ziebell 2-8 2-2 8, Marcus Luchterhand 2-6 0-0 4, Zion Jones 1-3 0-1 3, Kaiden Strey 4-4 2-3 10, Adam Hoeser 2-4 0-0 5, Cody Hart 0-2 0-0 0. FG: 24-52. FT: 8-10. 3-pointers: 11-25 (An. Hoeser 5-9, Rakestraw 2-4, Ziebell 2-5, Ad. Hoeser 1-2, Jones 1-3, Hart 0-2). Rebounds: 34 (An. Hoeser 11). Turnovers: 21. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-13, 9-5 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
SPENCER (56): Mathers McHone 2-9 0-0 6, Drake Johnson 1-4 0-0 3, Weston Nieman 3-11 2-2 10, Madden Prybylski 0-1 0-0 0, Ben Felgner 1-5 0-2 2, Tyler Peterson 1-6 0-0 3, Sam Bezlyk 8-17 6-8 23, Breckin Miller 3-8 1-2 9. FG: 19-61. FT: 9-14. 3-pointers: 9-31 (Miller 2-6, McHone 2-7, Nieman 2-8, Bezlyk 1-2, Peterson 1-3, Johnson 1-3, Felgner 0-1, Prybylski 0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Bezlyk 14). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 14-9, 7-7 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.