This story is sponsored by American Family Insurance/Randy Le Moine Agency LLC
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield boys basketball coach Bill Zuiker didn’t know what to expect from the Tigers after not playing a game for two weeks.
He didn’t need to worry.
Marshfield came out sizzling, outscoring Wisconsin Rapids by nine points in the first quarter and rolling to a 64-37 victory on Friday night at The Boson Company Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
Matt Oestreich scored 12 of the Tigers’ 16 points in the first quarter as Marshfield jumped out to a 16-7 lead, closing the period on an 11-2 run.
Oestreich added six more in the second quarter, hitting a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Tigers went up 31-14 at the break and effectively put the game away.
Marshfield hadn’t played since Jan. 3 when it beat Baraboo and had went nearly a month since playing a Wisconsin Valley Conference game, but the layoff did nothing to affect its play.
Marshfield ended up shooting 57 percent (25 of 44) from the field, made 8 of 17 3-pointers and built its lead to as much as 36 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was one of those nights, we played very well,” Bill Zuiker said. “The kids were hungry, obviously, because we haven’t played. You never know what you are going to get, are you going to get rust or a team that’s really on the ball? It was great to watch. We did it possession by possession with defense, rebounding, good shots…just sound play.”
Luke Zuiker added 17 points and nine rebounds, and Alex Strege scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Marshfield, which is now 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference. The Tigers are a game behind Stevens Point in the conference standings.
Wisconsin Rapids was held to just 10 made field goals and drops to 7-6 and 3-3 in the WVC. Alex Bassuener had three 3-pointers and finished with nine points to top the Raiders.
“To the kids’ credit, it’s hard not to play for two weeks,” Bill Zuiker said. “It almost feels like the start of a second season, but if they all turn out like this, that’s fine with me.”
Marshfield hosts Merrill on Tuesday.
Tigers 64, Raiders 37
Wisconsin Rapids 7 7 8 15 – 37
Marshfield 16 15 21 12 – 64
WISCONSIN RAPIDS (37): Hunter Langhoff 1-1 1-1 3, Riley Pressley 0-4 6-6 6, Jared Halbur 0-1 0-0 0, Jace Williamson 1-4 0-0 3, Tom Olson 1-5 0-0 2, Alex Bassuener 3-7 0-0 9, Jayson Wiernik 1-3 4-6 6, Philip Flory 3-9 0-0 8. FG: 10-34. FT: 11-13. 3-pointers: 6-20 (Bassuener 3-7, Flory 2-5, Williamson 1-4, Pressley 0-1, Olson 0-2, Wiernik 0-1). Rebounds: 15 (Wiernik 4). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 7-6, 3-3 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (64): Jeff Allison 1-2 1-2 4, Jace Krasselt 0-3 0-0 0, Luke Zuiker 8-15 0-0 17, Tanner Boson 2-2 0-0 5, Austin Gilbert 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Oestreich 7-9 1-1 18, Will Spindler 1-1 0-0 2, Kegan Fassler 0-0 0-0 0, Jordan Schlinsog 1-2 2-2 4, Alex Strege 4-7 2-2 12, Deven Wrege 1-2 0-0 2. FG: 25-44. FT: 6-7. 3-pointers: 8-17 (Oestreich 3-5, Strege 2-5, Zuiker 1-2, Allison 1-2, Boson 1-1, Krasselt 0-2). Rebounds: 29 (Zuiker 9). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 8-4, 4-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.