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By Greg Aune
For MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WAUSAU – The Marshfield boys basketball team overcame a slow start in its showdown with Wausau West on Friday at the West Fieldhouse, but the Warriors proved to be too much as they topped the Tigers 54-43.
The loss drops the Tigers into a first-place tie with the Warriors heading down the home stretch of Wisconsin Valley Conference play with both teams sitting at 7-2 with three games remaining. West’s win also avenges a two-point loss to the Tigers earlier in the year.
West got a pair of 3-pointers right out of the gates from Travis Schertz as the Warriors jumped out to an early 13-4 lead. They turned two early second-quarter Marshfield turnovers into four points and a 10-point lead before momentum eventually swung back in favor of the Tigers.
Marshfield started to close the gap midway through the second quarter with the help of a 7-0 run that was sparked by a three-point play by Cale Zuiker. West took only a two-point lead into the break, 27-25.
“We lagged on the defensive end tonight,” said Marshfield guard Sully Luepke, who led the Tigers with 13 points. “We played well to get it close after our poor start, but our backside defense hurt us tonight.”
Marshfield started the second half with a pair of turnovers that West converted into four points and the teams went back-and-forth throughout much of the third quarter. West ended the quarter with a flurry, however, as Schertz hit another 3-pointer with less than a minute left. The Warriors’ Jordan Penn hit a layup at the buzzer as West increased its lead to eight.
In the fourth quarter, Marshfield was continually on the wrong end of physical play underneath. The Tigers were continually able to get the ball inside, but West was able to generate turnovers on multiple occasions when bodies were banging around near the basket. Marshfield never got closer than eight points in the final frame.
“The calls didn’t go our way tonight, but we didn’t play good defense,” said Zuiker, who scored seven points. “You have to give them credit; they did a great job closing out on our shooters. We were able to get the ball inside, but we just weren’t able to convert.”
The Tigers’ Elliott Ashbeck scored seven points, while Ben Johnson chipped in six and Antoine Brown-Hainz added four.
West got the bulk of its scoring from three players, with Schertz scoring a game-high 19 and Nathan Piel and Penn chipping in 16 and 13, respectively.
Wausau West goes to Wisconsin Rapids on Feb. 12 and is on the road for two of its three remaining games. Marshfield still remains in good shape to claim at least a share of its first Valley title since 1992 as they are home for two of their last three games, including Feb. 12 against Stevens Point .
“It’s going to be tough because nothing is going to be given to us,” Zuiker said. “We just need to get off to a better start than we did tonight.”
Warriors 54, Tigers 43
Marshfield 11 14 10 8 – 43
West 17 10 16 11 – 54
MARSHFIELD (43): Sully Luepke 6-8 0-1 13, Elliott Ashbeck 3-6 0-1 7, Ryan Danczak 3-10 0-0 6, Cale Zuiker 3-7 1-1 7, Ben Johnson 3-5 0-0 6, Antoine Brown-Hainz 2-2 0-0 4, Dustin Thumann 0-4 0-0 0. FG: 20-43. FT: 1-3. 3-pointers 2-10 (Luepke 1-2, Ashbeck 1-4, Danczak 0-2, Zuiker 0-1, Thumann 0-1). Rebounds: 18. Turnovers: 9. Total fouls: 14. Fouled out: None. Record: 12-5, 7-2 Wisconsin Valley.
WEST (54): Nathan Piel 6-11 4-4 16, Travis Schertz 8-15 0-1 19, Tyler Day 0-1 0-1 0, Jordan Penn 6-12 0-0 13, Mitchell Pitek 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Meeks 2-3 0-0 4, Jim Schroeter 0-1 2-2 2. FG: 22-44. FT: 3-pointers: 4-13 (Schertz 3-5, Day 0-1, Penn 1-5, Pitek 0-1, Meeks 0-1). Rebounds: 21. Turnovers 11. Total fouls 7. Fouled out: none. Record: 13-3, 7-2 Wisconsin Valley.
