This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MADISON – For only the second time in more than 100 years of boys basketball at Marshfield High School, the Tigers will be playing for a state championship.
The Tigers used another stingy defensive performance and made clutch free throws over the final four minutes to defeat Waunakee 57-47 in a Division 1 semifinal at the 2025 WIAA State Boys Basketball Tournament on Friday night at the Kohl Center.
Marshfield (23-6) will take on Wisconsin Lutheran (27-2) in the D-1 state championship game Saturday at 8:15 p.m. Wisconsin Lutheran won the Division 2 title last season, while Marshfield will be making its first state finals appearance since 1940. State Tournament Scoreboard & Schedule
“We had a nice 10-point lead in the second half and it looked like we might extend that a little bit, then Waunakee battled back with their toughness, got it back to two or three, but defensively we were so good all game and making things difficult for them,” Marshfield coach Chris Fischer said. “Down those last four minutes, that’s how you finish a game. You take care ball, you defend, rebound and knock down free throws.”
Marshfield fell behind 7-3 early before a Landon Lee 3-pointer got its offense rolling.
A Brooks Hinson 3-pointer with 9:32 to go in the first half gave Marshfield a 13-10 lead and the Tigers led the rest of the way.
Ethan Knecht scored off an offensive rebound to give the Tigers their biggest lead of the first half at 26-16, and they took a 27-21 advantage into the break.
The game played out the same way many have as of late for the Tigers. With a lead, they used a patient offense to find open shots and took advantage of their superb free throw shooting to hold off an opponent.
After Waunakee closed to within two at 31-29 following an 8-0 run, sophomore Camden Kolstad scored two-straight times down court for the Tigers as he proved valuable minutes again off the bench for the Tigers.
Lee added a hoop to push the Tigers’ lead to 39-31 before the Warriors (22-6) made a another surge.
A 3-pointer from Jack Ellickson and a basket off a steal from Eli Selk brought Waunakee to within two again at 44-42 with just under six minutes remaining.
Marshfield did not make another basket from the field, but were able to build on its lead as the Tigers made 13 of 16 free throws over the final four minutes, while allowing just two baskets from Waunakee.
Hinson finished 7 of 10 at the line and Pohl was 8-for-8 to end up with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
The importance of the moment – the opportunity to win a state title – is not lost on the Tigers.
“Obviously our dream is for a state championship and we’re not going to settle for anything less than that,” Hinson said. “We worked our butts off this year and the last four years just to get to this point, and we’re not going to take this opportunity for granted.”
Fischer said the team’s relentless work ethic is what has brought them to this point.
“The thought of us having one more game is not the overwhelming part, the thought that the one more game is for a state championship, it can knock you back a bit,” Fischer said. “These guys have done so good all year in terms of their preparation, and not just this year, they’ve been preparing for this moment for a long, long time.
“It’s one thing to talk about winning a state championship, and the fact that we have a chance to do that is a testament to our guys and their preparation. We’re going to try to keep that mindset going into tomorrow against a really, really good Wisconsin Lutheran team.”
Wisconsin Lutheran held off a late charge from Oshkosh North to win the first semifinal game of the night, 58-57.
The state’s Mr. Basketball winner, Xzavion Mitchell, led the comeback attempt by the Spartans, scoring 15 of his game-high 27 points after halftime.
Wisconsin Lutheran led 45-32 with 15 minutes left before the Spartans ran off nine-straight points, seven by Mitchell.
North pulled ahead 54-52 before Wisconsin Lutheran pulled back ahead and held off a last-second 3-point attempt to clinch the victory.
Tigers 57, Warriors 47
Marshfield 27 30 – 57
Waunakee 21 26 – 47
MARSHFIELD (57): Chris Pohl 4-9 8-8 17, Joey Ketterer 1-4 1-2 3, Brooks Hinson 4-8 7-10 18, Landon Lee 3-5 2-2 9, Valin Ramberg 1-6 0-0 2, Camden Kolstad 3-5 0-0 6, Ethan Knecht 1-1 0-0 2, Jack Sternitzky 0-0 0-0 0, Afton Hamill 0-0 0-0 0, J.J. Steinbach 0-0 0-0 0, Magnus Machtan 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 17-38. FT: 18-22. 3-pointers: 5-17 (Hinson 3-4, Lee 1-2, Pohl 1-5, Ketterer 0-2, Ramberg 0-4). Rebounds: 25 (Hinson 8). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 23-6.
WAUNAKEE (47): Kaden MacKenzie 3-7 1-2 8, Trey Murray 2-5 0-0 5, Jack Ellickson 5-11 0-0 13, Eli Selk 3-5 1-2 7, Vance Johnson 3-8 2-4 8, Wes DuCharme 0-1 1-2 1, Mac Johnson 1-2 0-1 2, Ty Hanzel 1-2 0-0 3, Owen Wagner 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Cliff 0-0 0-0 0, Ian Hughley 0-0 0-0 0, Hudson Ralph 0-0 0-0 0, Danny Fath 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 18-41. FT: 5-11. 3-pointers: 6-17 (Ellickson 3-8, Hanzel 1-2, Murray 1-2, MacKenzie 0-3, Selk 0-1, M. Johnson 0-1). Rebounds: 22 (V. Johnson 5). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: none. Record: 22-6.