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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – It took a while for Marshfield to get going offensively, but the Tigers were tough from the defensive end from the start.
Marshfield missed its first five shots before hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to spark an 11-0 first quarter and the Tigers maintained a double-digit lead for much of the remainder of the game on their way to a 64-46 victory in Wisconsin Valley Conference boys basketball action Friday night at Marshfield High School.
The Tigers bounced back from a tough nonconference loss Tuesday to La Crosse Logan to dominate Merrill from the start. It all came down to defense, Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said.
“It was our intensity on the defensive end of the floor, that’s really what it came down to,” Michaelis said. “We had a good heart-to-heart after Tuesday. Defensively, we just didn’t do what we needed to do, giving up 71 points, not keeping guys in front of us, not stepping in and helping. The result was not a really good game.
“We really leaned on them and devoted those practices (Wednesday and Thursday) to that. We set the tone defensively. We held them to zero in the first quarter. Some of that was that they didn’t shoot well, but we had them a little back on their heels.”
Elliot Ashbeck made 14 of 16 free throws and scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to lead Marshfield, which improves to 9-5 and 5-2 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Ashbeck made three three-point plays in the third quarter and made 11 of 12 free throws to keep Marshfield’s lead between 10 and 20 throughout the second half.
“We have to get the mindset that it takes 32 minutes, not 18 or 20 or 24,” Ashbeck said. “We always kind of have that lull that gives them life. If we don’t step it up then we’re going to be in trouble. Tonight we were lucky to get that extra step. It’s all about playing that whole 32 instead of getting a 12-point lead and relaxing.”
Luke Zuiker’s basket made it 38-18 with 3 minutes left in the third quarter.
David Jesperson scored 15 of his 22 points in the third quarter, including the final seven points to keep the Bluejays (5-11, 2-5 WVC) close.
A 13-3 run by Merrill bridging the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters brought the Bluejays within 41-31 with 6:33 to go.
Marshfield maintained its composure as Ashbeck made six straight free throws and a basket, Luke Olson had two free throws and Tanner Dennis-Brown made a basket in a 10-3 run to push the Tigers’ lead back to 15 with 3:06 to go.
The Tigers closed out the game by making seven of eight free throws, including four straight by reserve Kole Oppman, who scored six points in the final 32 seconds.
“We haven’t shot the ball extremely well from the free throw line,” Michaelis said. “It’s going to come into play down the line, so we want to continue to concentrate on that. Tonight, the spread was in double digits, so the pressure wasn’t the same at the end of the game. In some of our losses it showed up really big. As long as we’re going to be aggressive and get ourselves to the line that shows that we’re playing the right way.”
Marshfield plays at Wausau West on Tuesday and hosts Stevens Point next Friday in a showdown for second place in the WVC standings. First-place D.C. Everest follows on the Tigers’ WVC schedule on Feb. 10.
“We’re going to come out and try to win every game,” Ashbeck said. “We’re kind of a day and night team. We can be a really good team and we can look pretty dang average. If we come out with the mindset that we’re going to outwork and outhustle the other team, we’re going to be pretty successful on a night-to-night basis.”
Tigers 64, Bluejays 46
Merrill 0 8 20 18 – 46
Marshfield 11 11 20 23 – 64
MERRILL (46): Paul Theorin 1-5 0-0 3, Nick Peterson 0-2 0-0 0, Greg Boyce 0-1 0-0 0, Brandon Bartz 0-2 2-2 2, David Jesperson 5-11 12-15 22, Nick Mootz 4-10 0-0 10, Josh Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Smith 2-5 0-0 4, Jared Wardall 1-2 3-8 5. FG: 13-38. FT: 17-25. 3-pointers: 3-15 (Mootz 2-6, Theorin 1-5, Jesperson 0-4). Rebounds: 26 (Wardall 6, Jesperson 6). Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: Boyce. Record: 5-11, 2-5 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (64): Luke Olson 1-4 2-2 5, Elliot Ashbeck 5-13 14-16 25, Kole Oppman 1-1 4-4 6, Mack Scheppler 0-0 0-0 0, Isaac Accola 0-1 1-2 1, Matt Oestreich 1-1 0-0 2, Luke Zuiker 5-9 1-4 12, Adam Voss 0-0 2-2 2, Tanner Dennis-Brown 1-2 0-0 2, Brandon Brown 1-3 0-0 3, Alex Arendt 1-1 0-0 2, Ben Satter 2-6 0-0 4. FG: 18-41. FT: 24-30. 3-pointers: 4-11 (Asbheck 1-5, Olson 1-3, Zuiker 1-1, B. Brown 1-2). Rebounds: 20 (Ashbeck 5). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: B. Brown. Record: 9-5, 5-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference.