This story is sponsored by: Chili Implement
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – It’s been more than three decades since a Marshfield boys basketball team made it to the state tournament.
There have been some close calls during that time, with three losses in the sectional finals coming in the past decade.
On Saturday, the Tigers got the job done. Marshfield used a 16-0 run bridging the end of the first half and the start of the second to pull past Kimberly 62-35 in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final at Lincoln High School.
Marshfield held Kimberly to just 24 percent shooting (11-for-46) in an impressive defensive performance.
Marshfield (22-6) will play a Division 1 semifinal at the 2025 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison on Friday night. Game times and matchups will be announced Sunday. It is the Tigers’ first state tournament appearance since 1994 and fifth overall, with the others coming in 1928, 1931 and 1940.
“I’d like to think that our experience from last year, being in the sectional final, came to light today,” Marshfield coach Chris Fischer said. “I think that really helped us.
“That may have been the best defensive game a Marshfield boys basketball team has ever played. Coach (Jake) Scheppler and Coach (Josh) Rottscheit were tremendous in their scouting report. They had their tendencies down, their actions down, they had the individual guys scouted well in what they like to do. Defensively we were really good and it allows you to get through the dry spells offensively, and we certainly had some early. And then, Brooks Hinson happened.”
Both teams struggled to get anything going early before Aaron Cullen drilled a 3-pointer and Landen Van Offeren scored inside to give Kimberly an 8-3 lead eight minutes into the game.
Marshfield quickly tied it on a hoop from Chris Pohl and a 3-pointer by Hinson. The deep 3 got Hinson going and he wasn’t going to be stopped.
The senior guard, who will be playing collegiately at Northern Michigan, hit another 3-pointer and scored on a drive to put Marshfield up 16-15.
The lead changed hands three more times before a Valin Ramberg triple put Marshfield up 20-18 with 3:19 to go in the half. Kimberly never led again.
Hinson hit two more 3s as the Tigers closed the half on a 9-0 run to take a 26-18 lead into the break.
“It’s a product of how hard he works and the amount of shots he gets up,” Fischer said of Hinson. “It’s not stand and shoot, lazy shots, it’s hard-working shots where he gets himself into a sweat, and that’s just what I see. He’s the best, he really is. He’s a tremendous leader and a great defender.”
Kimberly turned the ball over on its first two possessions and missed eight-straight shots from the field, and Marshfield took advantage.
Baskets by Pohl and Ramberg, and a big 3-pointer by Camden Kolstad finished off the 16-0 run that put the Tigers on top by 15.
After a pair of free throws from Cullen broke the ice for the Papermakers (13-14), Hinson hit two more 3s on his way to a game-high 24 points. A hoop inside by Ramberg made it 43-20 with 10 minutes to go to essentially put the win on ice.
Playing without senior point guard Landon Lee for the majority of the game due to foul trouble, it was Kolstad and senior Ethan Knecht that came in off the bench to provide valuable minutes.
“Camden played with a lot of poise today,” Fischer said. “His role is to defend and take care of the ball. If the opportunity comes to knock down a shot, he’s going to let it fly and knock it down. He had a big one early in the second half.
“Even though we didn’t have Landon on the floor a lot today, he was a big part of our team today. He was the one pumping Cam up.”
Kimberly turned to the foul game with 7 minutes to go, but it didn’t do any good as the Tigers made 15 of 18 free throws down the stretch and Kimberly continued to struggle offensively.
A put-back by senior reserve Magnus Machtan in the final minute finished off the victory for the Tigers.
In Fischer’s first season as head coach, Marshfield won just two games during the 2020-21 season. Since, the Tigers have won four-straight Wisconsin Valley Conference titles and now have finally climbed the mountain to reach the state tournament.
“The progression of the program, where the group of five coaches that started five years ago, going from two wins to know getting to Madison is what I’m most proud of,” Fischer said. “But it started before we got here. The coaching staffs prior. My involvement in this program dates back 30 years as a player, assistant coach, coach. You always talk about getting yourself (to state), but you’re never sure you’re going to do it because it’s extremely difficult. Now that we’re here, we have to make sure we enjoy it, but knowing the competitors we have in our locker room, they aren’t satisfied yet.”
Pohl added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Ramberg finished with 10 points for the Tigers.
Cullen led Kimberly with 14 points.
Tigers 62, Papermakers 35
Kimberly 18 17 – 35
Marshfield 26 36 – 62
KIMBERLY (35): Jake Teofilo 0-0 3-4 3, Aaron Cullen 3-8 6-7 14, Mikey Wildes 2-10 0-0 4, Ayden Lom 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Holschuh 0-2 0-0 0, Ryan Buchanan 0-2 0-0 0, Maddox Menodza 0-0 0-0 0, Tristen Ruys 0-0 0-0 0, Landen Van Offeren 3-10 0-0 7, Kegan Pleau 1-6 0-0 2, Alex Krause 1-5 1-4 3, Ben Grabner 1-3 0-0 2, Will Weyenberg 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 11-46. FT: 10-15. 3-pointers: 3-15 (Cullen 2-4, Van Offeren 1-4, Krause 0-1, Grabner 0-1, Buchanan 0-1, Pleau 0-2, Wildes 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (Cullen 4, Grabner 4). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Wildes. Record: 13-14.
MARSHFIELD (62): Chris Pohl 3-9 4-4 11, Joey Ketterer 1-3 2-4 5, Jack Sternitzky 0-0 0-0 0, Brooks Hinson 8-15 2-2 24, Landon Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Afton Hamill 0-0 0-0 0, J.J. Steinbach 0-1 0-0 0, Camden Kolstad 1-1 2-2 5, Magnus Machtan 1-1 0-0 2, Nick Hansen 0-1 0-0 0, Ethan Knecht 1-1 3-4 5, Valin Ramberg 3-10 3-4 10. FG: 18-42. FT: 16-20. 3-pointers: 10-23 (Hinson 6-10, Kolstad 1-1, Ketterer 1-2, Pohl 1-5, Ramberg 1-5). Rebounds: 38 (Hinson 9). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 15. Fouled out: none. Record: 22-6.