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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Seven different Marshfield Columbus Catholic players hit 3-pointers as the Dons put on an offensive show in the first half and blew past Owen-Withee 84-43 in a WIAA Division 4 boys basketball regional semifinal Thursday night at Columbus Catholic High School.
Tyler Mancl scored 19 points, Travis Pischel added 14 points and Dodge Langreck has 12 points for the Dons, who scored 45 points in the first half – the second game in a row in the playoffs Columbus has put up 45 points in the first half.
Columbus (19-5) will play Athens (6-17), a 66-56 winner over Greenwood on Thursday, in a Division 4 regional final at Neillsville High School at 7 p.m. Saturday.
Columbus was 11 of 21 from 3-point range, including a sizzling 9 of 18 from long distance in the first half as it built a 45-27 lead by halftime.
“They played really well coming out and it was a good time to play our best basketball,” Mancl said. “But we know that we haven’t won anything yet and have to come out hard again.”
Both teams came out hot as Columbus hit four of its first five 3-pointers in the opening 2:49, but the Dons couldn’t stop Owen-Withee’s Ryan Kitzhaber inside. The Blackhawks’ 6-foot-3 center had 10 points, including two three-point plays as O-W led 13-12 midway through the opening quarter.
Columbus hit two more 3-pointers – one by Jared Boyle and another by Pischel – and finished the quarter on a 12-6 run to take a 24-19 lead.
Kitzhaber scored 12 of his team-high 19 points in the first quarter for Owen-Withee (7-17).
The return of Boyle, who missed most of a four-game stretch with a wrist injury, has helped lift the Dons’ offense to 81.5 points a game in their two playoff games.
“He’s our ball-handler, he gets us into things, he’s the guy that we talk to the most on the bench and leads us that way,” Columbus coach Joe Konieczny said. “If we can stay healthy hopefully we can win one more and get another week.”
Columbus’ hot shooting continued in the second quarter and its press wore down the Blackhawks. The Dons forced eight turnovers in the quarter and used a 15-4 run to take a 39-23 lead and effectively put the game away.
Mancl hit a 3-pointer and Pischel scored seven points as Columbus outscored the Blackhawks 20-4 in the third quarter to build a 34-point advantage.
“We got a little content at the end of the year and know we can’t do that anymore,” Mancl said. “We’re really focused now.”
The Dons stumbled into the playoffs, losing four of their final six games, but they seem to have gotten their swagger back in two playoff blowouts, playing at the same high-intensity they did when beginning the season 15-1.
“I think they did a very nice job of sharing the ball,” Konieczny said. “Obviously, when you make shots like we did in the beginning it really loosens everything up. On our press, we didn’t foul real often, we stayed in front and let them make the mistake. When you are fast as we are, it really wares on teams late in the game.”
Dons 84, Blackhawks 43
Owen-Withee 19 8 4 12 – 43
Columbus 24 21 20 19 – 84
OWEN-WITHEE (43): Dakota Halida 1-4 0-2 3, Brandon Bredlau 0-3 0-0 0, Nick Wood 1-2 0-0 2, Derek Wegerer 4-9 0-2 8, Josh Niemi 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Wood 0-1 0-0 0, Alan Geiger 1-1 0-1 2, Ryan Kitzhaber 8-10 3-4 19, Kyle VanWinkel 1-4 1-4 3, Jakob Kelsey 1-2 0-0 2, Kordell Kaduce 0-0 0-0 0, Steven Esker 1-7 2-2 4. FG: 18-43. FT: 6-15. 3-pointers: 1-7 (Halida 1-1, N. Wood 0-1, Wegerer 0-3, VanWinkle 0-1, Esker 0-1). Rebounds: 19 (VanWinkle 6). Turnovers: 23. Total fouls: 21. Fouled out: Geiger. Record: 7-17.
COLUMBUS (84): Mike Iwanski 1-2 0-0 2, Dodge Langreck 4-6 2-2 12, Travis Pischel 6-11 0-0 14, David Green 3-5 0-0 7, Tyler Mancl 6-8 4-5 19, Jared Boyle 1-5 0-0 3, Paul Selz 2-4 4-4 9, Lucas Michalik 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Derfus 0-0 4-6 4, Brandon Nikolai 4-5 0-0 9, Isaac Welsh 0-0 0-0 0, Kyle Olson 0-0 3-4, David Cleveland 0-0 2-2 2. FG: 27-46. FT: 19-23. 3-pointers: 11-21 (Mancl 3-5, Langreck 2-3, Pischel 2-4, Boyle 1-3, Selz 1-2, Nikolai 1-2, Green 1-1, Iwanski 0-1). Rebounds: 22 (Green 4). Turnovers: 15. Total fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 19-5.
View video highlights of the Dons’ win at allmarshfield.com
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