MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WAUSAU – The Auburndale boys basketball team won its eighth straight game, and moved up in the Marawood Conference South Division standings in the process, knocking off Wausau Newman Catholic 44-41 on Thursday.
The win pushes the Apaches into a tie with Newman for second place in the conference at 9-3. Both teams are 14-5 overall with two Marawood South games and a Marawood crossover game to go in the regular season.
Auburndale’s Garrett Nikolay made all four of his free-throw attempts in the final minute and finished with a game-high 18 points as the Apaches maintained a slim lead.
Auburndale trailed 14-8 after one quarter, then outscored Newman 9-0 in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead at the break.
Nikolay and C.J. Castellano hit 3-pointers to help the Apaches build a lead in the fourth quarter and Nikolay’s free throws kept Newman at bay. The Cardinals missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game.
“Jacob Dorshorst had a great defensive game on their leading scorer, Jake Wolf, holding him to just two field goals,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “Our kids never lost their composure in a close game.”
Auburndale finishes its Marawood South schedule with a home game against Pittsville on Tuesday and a game at Marathon on Feb. 19.
Marathon wrapped up the South Division title with a 67-37 win over Pittsville on Thursday.
Apaches 44, Cardinals 41
Auburndale 8 9 13 14 – 44
Newman 14 0 13 14 – 41
AUBURNDALE (44): Garrett Nikolay 5-10 6-6 18, C.J. Castellano 1-4 2-3 5, Cole Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Pankratz 2-4 2-3 6, Jacob Dorshorst 2-6 2-3 6, Jake Hansen 1-6 1-2 3, Austin Hawkins 2-2 0-1 4, Adam Bauer 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 13-35. FT: 13-18. 3-pointers: 5-11 (Nikolay 4-9, Castellano 1-2). Rebounds: 18 (Pankratz 5). Record: 14-5, 9-3 Marawood South.
NEWMAN (41): Nick Dahlke 2-8 0-0 4, Jake Wolf 2-9 4-4 8, Michael Tubbs 1-5 1-2 3, Vince Bertram 2-6 0-0 4, Luke Gajewski 1-5 0-0 2, Sam Hollis 6-10 0-0 12, Jordan Maves 4-7 0-0 8. FG: 18-50. FT: 5-6. 3-pointers: 0-7 (Wolf 0-3, Tubbs 0-2, Dahlke 0-1, Gajewski 0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Bertram 9). Record: 14-5, 9-3 Marawood South.
