This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – A big spurt over the first 10 minutes of the game proved pivotal at the end for the Marshfield boys basketball team in its WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal matchup with Appleton East on Friday night.
The No. 2 seed Tigers rolled out to a 15-point lead in the first half and held off a late run from No. 15 Appleton East to finish off a 53-38 victory at the Fredrick Construction Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
Marshfield (19-6) moves on to a D-1 regional final Saturday night against No. 7 Stevens Point (17-8). Game time is 7 p.m. The Tigers defeated their Wisconsin Valley Conference rival twice during the regular season on their way to an unbeaten conference title.
“The first half, things were flowing for us, we had good ball movement, we had a good mix of inside-outside play and kind of got whatever we wanted,” Marshfield coach Chris Fischer said. “Coming out in the second half, for whatever reason and I don’t know why, we had trouble finishing at the rim on multiple occasions.
“It was a physical game, it was March basketball, when you play those types of games you expect yourself to absorb some contact. Sometimes they back away and you don’t get the contact, you overlay and underlay, and you are struggling to score. It wears on you physically and mentally, but it got tight, and we responded.”
Chris Pohl and Landon Lee hit 3-pointers in a 9-0 run that gave Marshfield a 15-4 lead midway through the first half.
A basket by Cade Prestigiacomo stemmed the tied for the Patriots, but the Tigers quickly scored six more in a row, which included another Lee 3-pointer, and they built their lead to 21-6.
East (7-19) finally found its offensive flow in the final five minutes of the half, but Marshfield matched them as Lee made four-straight free throws and Pohl scored inside as the Tigers took a 31-17 lead into halftime.
The big lead came in handy for the Tigers, who struggled to finish at the rim in the second half and watched Appleton East peck away at their advantage.
The Tigers scored just four points over the first 5½ minutes of the second half, and a basket by Jacob Weisbach brought East to within 35-24.
After a free throw from Brooks Hinson and a basket by Pohl, who finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds, East held Marshfield scoreless for more than five minutes and cut it to 38-31 after a 3-pointer from Brayden Nieman.
East kept creeping closer as Prestigiacomo made a pair of free throws and DaKing Clemons knocked down a 3, bring the Patriots to within four at 42-38 with four minutes left.
With the game on the line, Marshfield made sure there was no doubt it was not going to lose on its home floor.
East turned the ball over on five of its final six possessions as the Tigers buckled down defensively, and the Tigers put the game away at the free throw line.
Outside of a steal and layup from Hinson, nine of the Tigers’ final 11 points came from the free throw line as they finished on an 11-0 run to move on to Saturday’s regional final.
Lee finished 9-for-11 at the free throw line and scored a game-high 19 points for the Tigers. Prestigiacomo led East with 13 points.
“Defensively, I thought we were really good all night,” Fischer said. “Prestigiacomo is a really good player and Brooks did a nice job on him. I thought we rebounded well. March basketball is really, really tough. We got a win in a March, we got a playoff win, and that’s all you can ask for.”
Tigers 53, Patriots 38
Appleton East 17 21 – 38
Marshfield 31 22 – 53
APPLETON EAST (38): Josh Christiansen 0-3 0-0 0, Cade Prestigiacomo 5-13 2-2 13, Brayden Nieman 3-3 0-0 8, DaKing Clemons 1-7 6-6 9, Andile Sangweni 0-0 0-0 0, Elijah Childs 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Weisbach 2-4 0-0 5, Clayton Nieman 0-1 0-0 0, Mason O’Reilly 1-3 0-0 3, Zach Mueller 0-0 0-0 0, Trey Schaefer 0-0 0-0 0, Miles Bertrand 0-1 0-0 0, Allan Massingue 0-0 0-0 0, Apolo Massingue 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 12-36. FT: 8-8. 3-pointers: 6-21 (B. Nieman 2-2, O’Reilly 1-3, Weisbach 1-3, Prestigiacomo 1-3, Clemons 1-5, C. Nieman 0-1, Bertrand 0-1, Christiansen 0-3). Rebounds: 20 (B. Nieman 4). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 24. Fouled out: none. Record: 7-19.
MARSHFIELD (53): Chris Pohl 7-12 3-4 18, Joey Ketterer 0-1 2-2 2, Jack Sternitzky 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks Hinson 3-8 4-6 10, Landon Lee 4-11 9-11 19, Afton Hamill 0-0 0-0 0, J.J. Steinbach 0-0 0-0 0, Camden Kolstad 0-2 0-0 0, Magnus Machtan 0-0 0-0 0, Ethan Knecht 0-1 1-2 1, Valin Ramberg 0-2 3-4 3. FG: 14-37. FT: 22-29. 3-pointers: 3-13 (Lee 2-3, Pohl 1-3, Ketterer 0-1, Kolstad 0-3, Hinson 0-3). Rebounds: 26 (Pohl 10). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 19-6