This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
NEILLSVILLE – For the second year in a row the Marshfield boys basketball team will be playing for a state tournament berth.
The Tigers used a strong defensive effort, outscored Eau Claire Memorial by 10 points in the opening 8½ minutes of the second half, and defeated the Old Abes 58-47 in a WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinal Thursday at Neillsville High School.
A year after losing to Neenah in a sectional final, Marshfield (21-6) will get another crack at its first state tournament appearance since 1994 on Saturday at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School against No. 13 seed Kimberly in a D-1 sectional final at 1 p.m.
Kimberly (13-13) pulled off its third-straight upset, knocking off No. 1 seed Kaukauna 85-83 in overtime on Thursday at Bay Port High School.
“Kimberly is the hottest team in the state right now,” Marshfield coach Chris Fischer said. “They just went through a gauntlet, going across the state and beating a 4-seed in Holmen, coming back the next night and beating Appleton North who was state-ranked all year, and tonight they beat one of the best teams in the state with two of the best players in the state.
“We need to be ready. Our guys are mature enough to know that Kimberly is a quality opponent. You have to throw the record out and throw the seed out. They are going to come after us because they have nothing to lose.”
Marshfield did not score for the first 5½ minutes and fell behind 9-2 after Memorial knocked down its third 3-pointer in the opening portion of the game.
The Tigers recovered quickly, holding Memorial to just two points over the next six minutes. Senior Brooks Hinson hit three 3-pointers in an 11-2 run that put Marshfield up 13-11.
Another Hinson 3 and two Landon Lee free throws pushed Marshfield’s lead to 18-13 only to see Memorial come back this time.
Tay Ferguson hit a triple and Julius Clark knocked in a shot to put the Old Abes up 19-18.
Lee retaliated with five quick points before Memorial scored the final four, including a tip in at the buzzer, and the game was tied 23-23 at the break.
Marshfield buckled down in the second half, holding Memorial to just one field goal over the first 7:45, and took the lead for good.
A drive inside by Hinson, a nifty assist from Lee to Valin Ramberger, and a made basket by Chris Pohl helped the Tigers open up a 33-25 lead five minutes in. Memorial never got closer than seven the rest of the way.
Ethan Knecht scored twice inside, sandwiching a Joey Ketterer 3-pointer, as the Tigers went up 42-32.
“All game (the defense) was really good,” Fischer said. “To hold a team like that, who’s been in the 80s at times…it was a real physical game. Brooks, guarding (Cooper) Jesperson, Chris (Pohl) was really good, and Joey Ketterer guarding their good shooter, (Bryce) Hedtke, and not letting him get a shot off – he didn’t attempt a 3. Then he (Ketterer) knocked down a 3 and some free throws, it was a quality win.”
Memorial scored on three-straight possessions but Marshfield was able to make five of six free throws to keep some distance and eventually the Old Abes ran out of gas.
A late steal and layup by Hinson, who finished with a game-high 22 points, sealed it in the final minute for the Tigers.
“It took a little bit for us to get situated,” Fischer said. “We talked about a couple of things at halftime, came out and got a basket right off the bat, and it got us going a little bit and we figured out how to attack them better in the second half.”
Tigers 58, Old Abes 47
Eau Claire Memorial 23 24 – 47
Marshfield 23 35 – 58
EAU CLAIRE MEMORIAL (47): Shimar Simmons 0-0 1-2 1, Julius Clark 3-5 0-0 6, Bryce Hedtke 3-3 0-0 6, Cooper Jesperson 5-17 2-2 13, Tay Ferguson 3-6 0-0 9, Wesley Mboga 4-9 3-5 12, Caleb Yates 0-1 0-0 0, Ian Bauer 0-2 0-0 0, Ben Fesenmaier 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 18-41. FT: 6-9. 3-pointers: 5-19 (Ferguson 3-5, Mboga 1-4, Jesperson 1-6, Yates 0-1, Bauer 0-1, Clark 0-2). Rebounds: 28 (Clark 5, Bauer 5, Mboga 5). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Clark. Record: 21-5.
MARSHFIELD (58): Chris Pohl 2-5 0-0 4, Joey Ketterer 1-5 3-4 6, Brooks Hinson 9-12 0-1 22, Landon Lee 3-9 5-6 12, Ethan Knecht 3-3 0-2 6, Valin Ramberg 3-7 2-4 8. FG: 21-41. FT: 10-17. 3-pointers: 6-17 (Hinson 4-6, Lee 1-4, Ketterer 1-5, Ramberg 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (Hinson 5, Ramberg 5). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: none. Record: 21-6.