This story is sponsored by: The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield boys basketball team took its season-opening road loss last Friday as a positive, first-year head coach Bill Zuiker said, and the confidence the Tigers built from that game carried over to their home and Wisconsin Valley Conference opener.
Luke Zuiker scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, and Luke Olson had 20 points to lead the Tigers to a 67-46 victory over Merrill on Friday night at Marshfield High School.
Zuiker and Olson combined for 20 of Marshfield’s 24 points in a dominating second quarter that saw the Tigers turn a 13-11 deficit into a 35-23 lead by halftime.
An 11-4 run to start the third quarter put the game away for Marshfield.
“That first game, it was no fun losing, but I think the kids felt very positive,” Bill Zuiker said referring to the Tigers’ two-point loss at Fort Atkinson. “We had our chances, we didn’t win it, but we felt like, ‘Hey, we’re OK.’ They played really hard and didn’t get the ball in the basket.
“I think the kids felt that if they keep pushing, this will come.”
Matt Oestreich started a pivotal 19-2 run in the second quarter that included 3-pointers on four straight possessions. Zuiker hit one, followed by three straight from Olson, which included a rare four-point play. Olson nailed another from long distance just before the buzzer to give the Tigers a 12-point halftime advantage.
“We got down on defense and stopped them and that turned into offense,” Luke Zuiker said. “We’ve been keeping the intensity. We played hard against Fort Atkinson, it was a good game. We felt we could have won it, but we didn’t. We came out and kept playing hard.”
Tanner Dennis-Brown scored inside to begin the third quarter run that included a three-point play by Olson and two more baskets by Zuiker.
The Tigers led by at least 13 the rest of the way.
“It felt good…my teammates were finding me,” Olson said. “I was just shooting it and it was going in. We’ve been working hard. We’ve been doing a lot of conditioning and we have a lot more experience, too. Last year we were a bunch of juniors and sophomores, and now we’re juniors and seniors and we’re working good together.”
Bill Zuiker, who took over as head coach from Craig Michaelis this season, said both Luke Zuiker and Olson gained valuable experience last year. That, combined with hard work during the offseason, has them playing at a high level already in the new season.
“Luke Olson went out for football this fall and I think that was good for him,” Bill Zuiker said. “He’s stronger and believes that strength is really important. As we do our strength stuff in practice, he’s asking for it, it’s not like it’s something he has to do.
“Luke Zuiker hit the weights hard in the offseason. He understands that if he wants to play at a high level and at the next level, he’s got to get stronger. They made that commitment and I think it’s carried over. They don’t look like young kids as much.”
Marshfield hosts La Crosse Central in a nonconference game Tuesday at the Marshfield Fieldhouse at 7:30 p.m.
Tigers 67, Bluejays 46
Merrill 13 10 8 15 – 46
Marshfield 11 24 15 17 – 67
MERRILL (46): Paul Theorin 4-9 0-0 10, Nick Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Seaman 3-5 4-5 11, Nick Breaman 0-0 0-0 0, Brandon Bartz 1-4 0-0 2, David Jesperson 6-14 2-4 16, Nick Mootz 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Anderson 0-1 2-2 2, Michael Seaman 2-5 0-0 5, Alex Zettler 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Rekowski 0-0 0-0 0, Carlos Jimenez 0-1 0-0 0, Josh Harris 0-1 0-0 0, Chaz Mootz 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 16-41. FT: 8-11. 3-pointers: 6-17 (Theorin 2-7, Jesperson 2-4, A. Seaman 1-3, M. Seaman 1-2, Harris 0-1). Rebounds: 19 (Jesperson 4, Bartz 4). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 0-2, 0-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (67): Jeff Allison 0-3 0-0 2, Kole Oppman 1-1 0-0 2, Mack Scheppler 0-1 0-0 0, Isaac Accola 1-3 0-0 2, Jaylan Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Oestreich 2-4 0-0 4, Luke Zuiker 12-23 1-1 27, Luke Olson 7-11 2-3 20, Tanner Dennis-Brown 3-4 0-0 6, Alex Strege 2-2 0-0 4, Mitch Ott 0-0 0-0 0, Jace Krasselt 1-1 0-0 2. FG: 29-54. FT: 3-4. 3-pointers: 6-13 (Olson 4-7, Zuiker 2-4, Scheppler 0-1, Moore 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (Zuiker 12). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 1-1, 1-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference.