This story is sponsored by Dental Clinic of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – When Marathon bottled up Auburndale’s inside game and the outcome was on the line, the Apaches turned to their outside shooters – and they came through.
Trailing by nine points midway through the third quarter, Auburndale closed out the third quarter with four straight 3-pointers and never trailed again, beating previously unbeaten Marathon 54-46 on Tuesday night at Auburndale High School.
The win moves the Apaches (18-2, 12-1 Marawood Conference South Division) into a first-place tie with Marathon (19-1, 12-1) with one game remaining. A win at home Friday against Stratford will give the Apaches a share of their first conference title since 2004.
Cody Hanke had six of his 13 points in a 10-4 run to start the second half and build Marathon’s lead to 31-22 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter.
From there, Auburndale caught fire.
Cale Weiler drilled back-to-back 3-pointers and Kyle Greunke and C.J. Castellano added two more as the Apaches hit from long range on four straight possessions to take a 34-31 lead.
Auburndale was perfect in the fourth quarter, making all four of its field-goal attempts – including 3-pointers from Weiler and Castellano – and 10 straight free throws to pull away.
“We were just taking open shots,” said Weiler, who scored a team-high 16 points for the Apaches. “We’ve gone to the post all year long and tonight our outside shooters were feeling it. Me and Kyle and C.J., we all had big games.
“That first one I hit … I was just feeling it after that. My free throws were falling as well so I just kept shooting. Everything was falling.”
Marathon’s 1-3-1 zone defense caused problems at times for the Apaches, who had 16 turnovers, but once Auburndale started hitting from the outside, there wasn’t much Marathon could do.
“We talked about our kids making quick decisions because they are so long,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “They aren’t long, slow guys, they’re quick. So, you have to make that decision and stick with it. Our passing, for the most part, was pretty good. The more shots you get, the more that can go in, and we shot real well tonight.”
Castellano was 6-for-6 and Weiler was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to help keep Marathon at bay, and bring the Apaches one game closer to a Marawood South title.
“It’s been years since Auburndale was conference champs, it would mean the world to us,” Weiler said. “Everybody put in the time in the summer – it would be amazing.”
Apaches 54, Raiders 46
Marathon 15 6 10 15 – 46
Auburndale 9 9 16 20 – 54
MARATHON (46): Collin Seubert 0-1 0-0 0, Koleman Schilling 1-7 0-0 2, Vince Dinkel 0-1 0-0 0, Cedric Lechleitner 5-6 0-0 11, Brody Hurtis 5-12 2-3 16, Cody Hanke 6-10 1-5 13, Nathan Gurlaski 2-5 0-0 4. FG: 19-42. FT: 3-8. 3-pointers: 5-17 (Hurtis 4-9, Lechleitner 1-2, Schilling 0-5, Seubert 0-1). Rebounds: 20 (Hanke 6, Lechleitner 6). Turnovers: 9. Total fouls: 14. Fouled out: Gurlaski. Record: 19-1, 12-1 Marawood South.
AUBURNDALE (54): Cale Weiler 4-6 4-4 16, C.J. Castellano 3-6 6-6 15, Isaac Castellano 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Greunke 1-4 0-0 3, Markus Kleifgen 5-6 0-0 10, Austin Hawkins 2-5 2-2 6, Jake Hansen 2-5 0-0 4. FG: 17-32. FT: 12-12. 3-pointers: 8-13 (Weiler 4-6, C.J. Castellano 3-4, Greunke 1-2, Kleifgen 0-1). Rebounds: 24 (Hawkins 7, C.J. Castellano 6). Turnovers: 16. Total fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 18-2, 12-1 Marawood South.