This story is sponsored by: The University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Stevens Point Area Senior High started the game out on a 10-0 run and pushed back at every run made by Marshfield, going on to a 59-46 win over the Tigers in boys basketball action Friday night at The Boson Company Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
The win pushes SPASH’s lead in the Wisconsin Valley Conference to two games over Marshfield. Point is now 16-1 overall and 8-0 in the conference, while Marshfield drops to 11-5 and 6-2 in the Valley.
George Diekelman scored 16 of his game-high 19 points in the second half for the Panthers. Trevor Anderson added 18 points and Sam Hauser had 16 points and eight rebounds for Stevens Point.
Jeff Allison and Matt Oestreich each had eight points to lead Marshfield.
The Tigers’ top scorer, Luke Zuiker, was held to just five points on 2 of 9 shooting.
The Panthers shot a sizzling 61 percent (22 of 36) overall and made 12 of 17 3-pointers (70 percent) in the win. Anderson was 5 of 6 from 3-point range and Hauser made 4 of 5.
In the second half, SPASH made 15 of its 21 shot attempts.
Hauser, Anderson and Diekelman each made a 3-pointer as the Panthers opened the game on a 10-0 run.
Marshfield closed to within five on a basket by Will Spindler with 2:12 to go in the half, but didn’t score again for four minutes and Diekelman’s 3-pointer with 6 minutes to go in the third quarter put the Panthers back on top 28-16.
The Tigers closed to within nine on three occasions in the second half, but couldn’t get closer as SPASH retaliated with a basket each time.
Point made its final seven shot attempts in the fourth quarter as Marshfield fell behind by as much as 20 points.
Marshfield will play at D.C. Everest on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com beginning with the pregame show at 7:10 p.m.
Panthers 59, Tigers 46
Stevens Point 10 12 16 21 – 59
Marshfield 4 12 11 19 – 46
STEVENS POINT (59): George Diekelman 8-11 1-1 19, T.J. Schrank 0-0 0-0 0, Jon Barnes 1-5 0-1 2, Sam Hauser 6-7 0-0 16, Trevor Anderson 6-9 1-2 18, Kirien Sprecher-Katzmarek 0-0 0-0 0, Sean Van Helden 0-2 0-1 0, D.J. Drohner 1-1 0-0 3, Aaron Nickel 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Ruzek 0-1 1-4 1. FG: 22-36. FT: 3-9. 3-pointers: 12-17 (Anderson 5-6, Hauser 4-5, Diekelman 2-4, Drohner 1-1, Van Helden 0-1). Rebounds: 23 (Hauser 8). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 16-1, 8-0 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (46): Jeff Allison 2-4 4-4 8, Zach Shortess 0-0 2-2 2, Jace Krasselt 1-2 0-0 3, Luke Zuiker 2-9 0-2 5, Tanner Boson 2-2 0-0 5, Matt Oestreich 4-8 0-0 8, Will Spindler 1-2 0-0 2, Kegan Fassler 3-5 1-3 7, Jordan Schlinsog 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Strege 3-7 0-0 6. FG: 18-39. FT: 7-11. 3-pointers: 3-15 (Boson 1-1, Krasselt 1-1, Zuiker 1-4, Oestreich 0-2, Allison 0-2, Strege 0-3, Fassler 0-2). Rebounds: 19 (Strege 7). Turnovers: 9. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-5, 6-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference.