This story is sponsored by Dental Clinic of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – When the season began, people outside of Marshfield figured it would be a down season for the Tigers boys basketball team.
After all, it lost a core group of players that won a Wisconsin Valley Conference championship two years ago and won 17 games last season.
Those inside the Marshfield circle expected more and that confidence led to a 15-win season and a second-place finish in the WVC. However, the positives of this year came to an abrupt end Friday as the Tigers lost a fourth-quarter lead and fell to Wausau East 53-49 in a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal at the Marshfield High School Fieldhouse.
Marshfield built a 26-19 lead at halftime after a 15-4 run in the second quarter and held the lead for much of the second half before falling cold at the most crucial time.
Tanner Dennis-Brown scored inside with 3:50 to go to put the Tigers up 49-46, but that was the last time Marshfield would score.
The Tigers’ final five possessions ended with a pair of turnovers and five missed shots – and East took advantage.
Andy Plautz scored two baskets, the second coming after two offensive rebounds by the Lumberjacks to give East a 50-49 lead with 1:06 to go.
Mark McCormick, who hit a buzzer-beater to knock off Marshfield at the Fieldhouse on Valentine’s Day, made three of four free throws in the final 21.9 seconds to finish off the win.
East (14-8) plays at D.C. Everest (21-2) in a Division 1 regional final on Saturday. Marshfield’s season ends with a 15-8 record – its third straight winning season.
“We had a good second quarter defensively and the others just weren’t there for various reasons,” Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said. “The inability to keep the ball in front of us was a big one. It’s something we’ve worked on, this was our No. 1 goal to be on the boards and protect the paint. The ended up getting some offensive rebounds and putbacks and little things like that hurt.”
Hot 3-pointer shooting kept the Tigers in the game early. East jumped out to a 6-0 lead but a pair of 3-pointers by Elliot Ashbeck and another by Isaac Accola helped the Tigers stay within striking distance at 15-11.
Marshfield made 6 of 10 shots in the second quarter, while East was just 2 of 6 and missed all four of its free throw attempts. The Tigers’ 15-4 advantage gave them a 26-19 lead at the break.
East pulled ahead 35-34 in the third quarter and the lead changed hands three more times before Marshfield took a 40-39 lead into the fourth, where it couldn’t hold on.
“It was a very successful season, but in the games where we had losses and back-to-back losses, we had stretches where we were just trading baskets,” Michaelis said. “We scored at a pace tonight to win a game, but when you score, then give one up, score, then give one up, that’s just a bad cycle.
“It was a fun year and everybody’s season ends other than one team. I wish it would have been down the line. I thought we were good enough to make a little bit of a run, but you have to have a solid 32 minutes and we just didn’t have it tonight.”
Ashbeck, playing his final game for the Tigers scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He finishes his career with 967 points and ends up fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list. He ends up just seven points shy of Bob Mason (1959-62) for third on the list.
In all, six seniors – Ben Satter, Brandon Brown, Sean Koran, Alex Arendt, Adam Voss and Ashbeck – will graduate.
“I’m proud of my seniors and I appreciate all the things they put into it,” Michaelis said. “They led wonderfully. They really created a very good team bond and chemistry. You could really see that after the game with how much it hurt, but that’s what makes it special. If no one cared, then it’s not worth doing.”
Lumberjacks 53, Tigers 49
Wausau East 15 4 20 14 – 53
Marshfield 11 15 14 9 – 49
WAUSAU EAST (53): Ryan Pitney 3-3 1-1 9, Cole Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Andy Plautz 7-12 0-2 15, Mark McCormick 2-7 3-4 7, Adam Urmanski 1-2 0-0 2, Justin Strom 1-3 0-0 2, Conrad Felten 4-9 4-6 12, Brandon Luedke 3-3 0-0 6. FG: 21-40. FT: 8-13. 3-pointers: 3-11 (Pitney 2-2, Plautz 1-4, Felten 0-2, Urmanski 0-1, McCormick 0-1, Nelson 0-1). Rebounds: 18 (Luedke 5). Turnovers: 3. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: none. Record: 14-8.
MARSHFIELD (49): Luke Olson 0-2 0-0 0, Elliot Ashbeck 8-13 6-6 25, Isaac Accola 2-3 0-0 5, Matt Oestreich 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Zuiker 3-10 0-0 7, Tanner Dennis-Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Brandon Brown 1-5 0-0 2, Ben Satter 2-5 0-2 4. FG: 19-42. FT: 6-8. 3-pointers: 5-12 (Ashbeck 3-4, Accola 1-1, Zuiker 1-5, Olson 0-1, B. Brown 0-1). Rebounds: 25 (Ashbeck 10). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 15-8.