This story is sponsored by: Trudeau Construction and The Tile Guys
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – With first place in the Wisconsin Valley Conference on the line, the Marshfield boys basketball team gave D.C. Everest all it could handle, but in the end the Evergreens did just a little more to pull out a victory.
Marshfield used an 8-0 run during the final 1:21 of regulation to force overtime and two late free throws by Everest pushed the game into a second extra period. From there, the Evergreens dominated, outscoring Marshfield 12-1 to win 59-48 and remain undefeated in the WVC.
Everest improves to 8-1 overall and 3-0 in the conference, while Marshfield falls to 5-3 and 2-2 in the Wisconsin Valley.
Luke Heller finished with 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Everest.
Elliot Ashbeck, despite making just 3 of 19 shots from the field, finished with a team-high 17 points for the Tigers as he was 9 of 12 from the free throw line.
Everest led by between four and 12 points throughout most of the second half. A pair of free throws by Heller and a steal and layup by Brent Esser put Everest ahead 43-35 with 2:57 to go.
Marshfield missed its next two times down the court, but held its ground defensively and chipped away. Ashbeck and Tanner Dennis-Brown each made two free throws to cut the deficit in half. Everest missed the front end of a pair of one-and-ones and Brandon Brown scored inside with 25.8 seconds to go to make it a two-point game.
After an Everest turnover, Ashbeck missed but Luke Zuiker grabbed the rebound and hit a floater in the lane to tie it with 14 seconds left. Everest turned the ball over again and time expired to send it to overtime.
“I thought our effort was outstanding tonight, from beginning to end,” Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said. “Everest is good. We knew that coming in and Heller is a tough matchup for anyone you play against. You have to play a little cleaner throughout a game if you’re going to beat them. You can’t have mental breakdowns. We had some mental breakdowns in our execution tonight that probably weren’t that visible, but were probably cost in what we were trying to do.”
Neither team mad a basket in the first overtime as each played aggressive defensively. Marshfield made 4 of 6 free throws and Everest was 4 of 8, but it was Jared Gjertson’s two free throws with 21.8 seconds remaining that erased Marshfield’s lead and pushed the game into a second overtime.
In the second extra period, Heller made a pair of baskets and Esser converted a conventional three-point play to give the Evergreens a 54-47 lead.
Ashbeck made one of two free throws to stop the run with 39.1 seconds left, but the Tigers would never score again, missing three 3-point attempts in the final seconds and all six of their shots from the field in the two overtimes. Everest iced it, making five of six from the free throw line in the final 30 seconds.
“We had opportunities to win a game and when you get those, you have to take advantage and close out games,” Michaelis said. “We let them hang probably a possession too long than we should have and they took advantage of that. That’s what a good team does and you have to give them credit.”
Marshfield returns to action Tuesday with a nonconference road game at Tomah.
Evergreens 59, Tigers 48 (2 OT)
D.C. Everest 13 13 12 5 4 12 – 59
Marshfield 9 10 9 15 4 1 – 48
D.C. EVEREST (59): Alex Tarras 2-5 0-1 5, Andy Reiche 2-4 1-2 7, Brent Esser 4-12 3-4 12, Paige Wolfe 0-0 0-0 0, Austin Waldvogel 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Aleckson 0-3 0-2 0, Luke Heller 10-16 5-11 26, Josh Nielsen 0-2 0-0 0, Jared Gjertson 2-6 5-6 9. FG: 20-48. FT: 14-26. 3-pointers: 4-12 (Reiche 2-3, Esser 1-4, Tarras 1-2, Aleckson 0-1, Nielsen 0-2). Rebounds: 32 (Heller 12). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Aleckson. Record: 8-1, 3-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (48): Luke Olson 0-4 4-5 4, Elliot Ashbeck 3-19 9-12 17, Isaac Accola 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Oestreich 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Zuiker 3-4 5-10 12, Sean Koran 0-1 0-0 0, Adam Voss 0-2 0-0 0, Tanner Dennis-Brown 0-0 2-2 2, Brandon Brown 1-4 1-2 3, Alex Arendt 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Satter 5-6 0-1 10. FG: 12-42. FT: 21-32. 3-pointers: 3-19 (Ashbeck 2-11, Zuiker 1-1, Olson 0-4, Voss 0-2, Oestreich 0-1).