This story is sponsored by Forward Financial Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WAUSAU – Wausau Newman Catholic led for just 41 seconds of Thursday’s WIAA Division 5 boys basketball sectional semifinal against Marshfield Columbus Catholic.
Unfortunately for the Dons, it was the final 41 seconds of the game.
Newman made six straight free throws in the final 41 seconds to complete a big comeback and knock off Columbus Catholic 39-34 at Wausau East High School.
Newman (20-6) moves on to a Division 5 sectional final against Green Bay NEW Lutheran (25-1) on Saturday at Pulaski.
Columbus (20-6) dominated play for much of the first half, pulling out to a 22-7 lead behind a 17-3 run that bridged the final 3:11 of the first quarter and first 4:21 of the second.
Derrick Green and Jared Fleischmann hit 3-pointers as the Dons scored on its first four possessions of the second quarter and Jacob Puent’s rebound and basket made it 22-7 with 3:39 to go in the half.
Suddenly, however, the Dons’ offense went ice cold.
Trailing 22-9 at halftime, Newman came out firing in the third quarter and quickly got back in the game.
Newman’s top scorer, Marcus Gabriel, was held scoreless in the first half but came out and scored seven points in the third quarter as the Cardinals found their rhythm.
Columbus missed all seven shot attempts in the quarter and committed three turnovers as Newman rallied to tie the game on a basket by Jake Gajewski in the closing seconds, completing a 13-0 run in the quarter.
“I think they (Newman) played with more intensity defensively,” Columbus coach Joe Konieczny said of the Cardinals’ comeback in the third quarter. “They were playing physical and we didn’t react well to it. We didn’t cut all the way to the rim, our screens were kind of half-speed and we didn’t match their physical play in the third quarter. We definitely left the negativity snowball.”
Columbus regrouped and pulled ahead by four points on three different occasions.
Puent, who finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds, made two free throws with 2:31 to go, putting the Dons up 34-30.
Nick Thoreson drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key to cut the Dons’ lead to one and the score stayed the same until Gabriel, who had 15 points in the second half, made a pair of free throws with 41.6 seconds left.
Columbus turned the ball over times and missed its only two shot attempts over the final 2 minutes and the Cardinals were able to expand the lead, making four more free throws in the last 13 seconds.
Seven seniors played their final game for the Dons, ending a season that included a Cloverbelt Conference East Division title.
“I think big picture, it was a good year,” Konieczny said. “This one’s going to haunt us for a while, but 15, 20 years from now, the seniors will look back and be proud. They did some pretty good things. They built some great relationships and learned some lessons.”
Cardinals 39, Dons 34
Wausau Newman Catholic 4 5 13 17 – 39
Marshfield Columbus Catholic 10 12 0 12 – 34
NEWMAN (39): Marcus Gabriel 5-10 5-6 15, Eric Bychinski 0-0 0-0 0, Nate Prososki 3-12 0-1 6, Nick Toreson 2-3 2-2 8, Jake Gajewski 2-7 2-2 6, Dane Fronek 0-2 0-0 0, Jeff Ford 1-3 2-2 4. FG: 13-37. FT: 11-13. 3-pointers: 2-8 (Thoreson 2-3, Prososki 0-4, Gajewski 0-1). Rebounds: 25 (Prososki 7). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 20-6.
COLUMBUS (34): Alex Baierl 0-2 0-0 0, Bryce DeSmet 2-8 2-2 8, Jared Fleischmann 4-11 4-8 13, Derrick Green 1-2 0-0 3, Sam Studinger 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Payant 0-0 0-0 0, Cole Mushel 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Nikolai 0-2 0-0 0, Jacob Puent 4-10 2-3 10, Ben Behling 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Dieringer 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Fuerlinger 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Hansen 0-0 0-0 0, Brett Loveland 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 11-35. FT: 8-13. 3-pointers: 4-13 (DeSmet 2-6, Fleischmann 1-2, Green 1-2, Nikolai 0-1, Baierl 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (Puent 11). Turnovers: 7. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 20-6.