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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WESTON – Stratford tried to take advantage of Amherst’s 6-foot-5 center Steve Maves being on the bench for most of the first half in foul trouble.
The Tigers did, holding the lead throughout most of the first 2½ quarters, but when Amherst was able to get Maves back into the flow, Stratford began to falter.
The Falcons closed the third quarter with an 11-0 run to take an eight-point lead and held on the rest of the way, beating Stratford 53-38 in a WIAA Division 4 boys basketball sectional semifinal Thursday night at D.C. Everest High School.
Maves scored all 12 of his points in the second half and point guard Willie Doll led the Falcons with 15 points and seven rebounds as Amherst (19-6) moves on to a sectional final Saturday at Antigo against Oshkosh Lourdes (22-3).
“Maves came back and they hit some shots, and we had a tough time hitting shots,” Stratford coach Curt Schmidt said. “Doll was able to sneak inside in the second half. We did a pretty good job on him in the first half, but it helps to have a little bit of a lead. You’re able to do things on your terms. Once they trickled a little bit ahead, then you have to come out more and guard them.
“You can’t stop all of them. I thought their perimeter players shot well from the outside and when we went out and guarded them, they were able to get it into Maves inside.”
Stratford led 21-18 at halftime behind 10 points from Troy Mengel, but its shooting fell cold in the third and Amherst took advantage.
Marcus Jensen scored five points in the middle of the 11-0 run over the final 4:20 of third quarter that erased a three-point Tigers’ lead and gave Amherst a 33-25 advantage heading into the fourth.
Stratford scored just two points over the first 4½ minutes of fourth before a 3-pointer by Ben Kraus cut Amherst’s lead to 37-30.
The Tigers then rode senior guard Derek Austin as they scrambled to come back.
Austin hit a pair of 3-pointers and two free throws following a technical foul to cut the Falcons’ advantage to 43-38 with 1:20 left.
The Tigers then created a steal near half court, but Austin missed a 3-pointer and Stratford was forced to foul to stop the clock and get the ball back. The Falcons made 8 of 10 free throws over the final minute and the Tigers didn’t score again.
Austin finished with 16 points and six rebounds for Stratford (20-5). Mengel didn’t score in the second half as he sat out spots because of foul trouble and finished with 10 points.
“We got cold, didn’t shoot well, and they got some big offensive rebounds,” Schmidt said. “I think we just kind of wore out.”
Falcons 53, Tigers 38
Stratford 10 11 4 13 – 38
Amherst 7 11 15 20 – 53
STRATFORD (38): Greg Belter 0-2 0-0 0, Nolan Bargender 1-4 0-0 2, Ben Kraus 1-2 0-0 3, Derek Austin 4-12 5-7 16, Eli Temanson 1-3 0-0 2, Travis Urlaub 2-5 1-2 5, Austin Strasser 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Reif 0-0 0-0 0, Troy Mengel 2-7 6-7 10, Andrew Marcis 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 11-35. FT: 12-16. 3-pointers: 4-12 (Austin 3-9, Kraus 1-1, Temanson 0-2). Rebounds: 18 (Austin 6). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Austin. Record: 20-5.
AMHERST (53): Caleb Glennon 3-4 0-1 6, Willie Doll 3-12 9-10 15, Chris Zblewski 1-2 1-2 3, Joe Biadasz 1-4 2-2 5, Connor Zblewski 0-0 0-0 0, Jeremy Oney 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Makuski 2-3 1-4 7, Marcus Jensen 2-3 0-0 5, Phillip Benjamin 0-0 0-0 0, Steve Maves 3-6 6-6 12. FG: 15-34. FT: 19-25. 3-pointers: 4-9 (Makuski 2-3, Jensen 1-2, Biadasz 1-3, Doll 0-1). Rebounds: 26 (Doll 7, Glennon 6). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 19-6.