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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield took care of business in its WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal, but it certainly wasn’t easy.
The Tigers never trailed but had to withstand punch after punch from Chippewa Falls before finally knocking out the Cardinals 65-55 on Tuesday at the Marshfield High School Fieldhouse, ending a seven-game postseason losing streak.
Cale Zuiker scored 22 points, Ryan Danczak added 16 and Elliott Ashbeck came off the bench to score 15 for the Tigers (18-5), who won for the fifth straight time and for the first time in the WIAA playoffs since the 2002-03 season.
Marshfield moves on to a Division 1 regional final at Superior (19-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m. A win for the Tigers would send them into the sectionals, which they host next Friday and Saturday at the Fieldhouse. The Tigers lost to Superior earlier this season, 56-29.
“They’re a really good team,” Danczak said. “We probably had our worst game of the year. I was out with an injury, but I don’t think we were ready to play. We’re expecting a different outcome, a lot closer game. It’s going to be amazing.”
Zuiker scored 10 of the Tigers’ first 12 points and Marshfield built a 17-7 lead after one quarter.
Chippewa Falls made its first run in the second quarter. A 11-2 run by the Cardinals cut Marshfield’s lead to 23-18 and Jared Jaquish and Alex Ruf each made two free throws before halftime to bring Chippewa Falls to with two. Danczak’s basket on a fastbreak with four seconds left in the half gave Marshfield a 29-25 lead at intermission.
The Tigers were able to run with success against Chippewa Falls, something they haven’t always done this season.
“We were up and kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit,” Danczak said. “They’re a good team. We amped up again after halftime, got another lead and held on with free-throw shooting and patient offense.”
Danczak’s 3-pointer and a fast-break basket by Zuiker gave Marshfield another nice cushion at 36-27 before the Cardinals (10-13) made another run, scoring seven straight points. A three-point play by Cal Melberg capped the run and again cut Marshfield’s lead to two at 36-34.
After a Danczak layup, Tyson Kalien drilled a 3-pointer for the Cardinals to make it 38-37, but Ashbeck, who was a perfect 6 of 6 from the field, retaliated with a 3-pointer to spark a 10-0 run that carried into the fourth quarter.
Three straight 3-pointers – two by Jared Jaquish and one by Justin Jaquish – brought Chippewa Falls to within six at 52-46. Marshfield responded to the Cardinals’ final gasp by making 13 of 18 free throws over the final 4:10 to win by double digits.
“We knew it wouldn’t be easy. Luke’s (Chippewa Falls coach Luke Madsen) teams always play that hard, it’s never over,” Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said. “You could see that – every time we pushed ourselves out to a lead, they’d come right back. They shoot the ball well and play with intensity, so you have to give them a lot of credit.”
Tigers 65, Cardinals 55
Chippewa Falls 7 18 12 18 – 55
Marshfield 17 12 12 24 – 65
CHIPPEWA FALLS (55): Alex Ruf 4-8 4-4 12, Tyson Kalien 4-10 0-0 10, Cal Melberg 2-3 1-1 6, Jared Jaquish 4-10 2-2 14, Justin Jaquish 2-5 0-0 5, Matt Leis 3-6 0-0 6, Tyler Kinderman 1-1 0-0 2, Shaun Miller 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 20-43. FT: 7-7. 3-pointers: 8-21 (Ja. Jaquish 4-8, Kalien 2-6, Ju. Jaquish 1-4, Melberg 1-2, Leis 0-1). Rebounds: 15 (Ja. Jaquish, Melberg 3). Turnovers: 14. Total fouls: 20. Fouled out: Kalien. Record: 10-13.
MARSHFIELD (65): Sully Luepke 1-3 4-6 6, Elliott Ashbeck 6-6 1-2 15, Ryan Danczak 4-12 7-8 16, Cale Zuiker 8-11 4-6 22, Ben Johnson 0-2 2-2 2, Antonie Brown-Hainz 0-3 0-0 0, Jake Scheppler 2-2 0-0 4, Dustin Thumann 0-0 0-0 0, Jon Bauer 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 21-39. FT: 18-24. 3-pointers: 5-13 (Zuiker 2-4, Ashbeck 2-2, Danczak 1-5, Luepke 0-2). Rebounds: 24 (Zuiker 6). Turnovers: 13. Total fouls: 14. Fouled out: none. Record: 18-5.
View video highlights of the Tigers’ win at allmarshfield.com
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