This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield senior guard Anthony Posteluk did not attempt a shot in the Tigers’ nonconference win over Chippewa Falls on Monday, an unusual statistic to have for the team’s top scorer.
He quickly made sure that would not happen again. Posteluk opened the scoring as he drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key nine seconds into the game Friday night and the Tigers never trailed, rolling to a 64-42 win over Wausau East in a Wisconsin Valley Conference boys basketball game at Marshfield High School.
Posteluk would score 10 points in a 16-5 run to start the game and finished with a game-high 26 points as Marshfield pulled into a tie for first place in the WVC with the victory.
Stevens Point knocked off previously unbeaten D.C. Everest 71-63 on Friday to tighten things up in the conference standings. D.C. Everest, Marshfield and Merrill are now all 3-1 in conference play, with Point following at 2-1.
“I didn’t like some of our possessions tonight,” Marshfield coach Scott Scheuer said. “I’m not sure why we were in such a hurry. I want us to be quick, but not in a hurry. I think Tony (Posteluk) was guilty of that tonight. I think he was so jacked up that he didn’t get a shot against Chippewa, he was going to get some tonight. For the most part, he was within himself and I certainly want him to be aggressive, he’s a good player.”
Marshfield was stifling on defense, especially early, forcing 15 turnovers in the first half, and had a chance to bust open the game midway through the second half, but missed 11-straight field goal attempts.
A 3-pointer from Ben Cayley brought East (7-5, 1-2 WVC) to within 22-15 with 7½ minutes left in the half before Marshfield regrouped and closed out the half with an 11-4 run to take a 33-19 lead into halftime.
East made just four baskets over the first 15 minutes of the second half as the Tigers methodically pulled away.
Two free throws and a 3-pointer from Addison Hill made it 45-23, and Posteluk finished off his big night with a 3-pointer and a three-point play in the final four minutes as the Tigers cruised to the finish line.
Hill finished with 11 points, and Kyle Tremelling had seven points and six rebounds in the win for the Tigers (6-5 overall).
Gabe Krueger led East with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He was 7-for-14 from the field and 10-for-14 at the free throw line. The rest of the Lumberjacks combined to shoot 6-for-23 overall and 2-for-9 at the line.
“I thought defensively, our key was the ball pressure,” Scheuer said. “They turned it over a few times just because they didn’t get a good look. We’re going to be fine just because my guys get it. They know how hard they are going to have to work.”
Marshfield hosts Wausau West on Monday and Rhinelander next Friday.
Tigers 64, Lumberjacks 42
Wausau East 19 23 – 42
Marshfield 33 31 – 64
WAUSAU EAST (42): Tony Powell 0-0 0-2 0, Ben Cayley 2-6 0-0 6, Max Novak 0-2 0-0 0, Jack Ohrmundt 1-3 0-0 2, Andrew Heinzen 0-1 0-0 0, Zidane Charles 1-2 0-2 3, Sam Moses 0-2 0-0 0, Jordan Sherman 0-1 0-0 0, Jake Thome 0-2 0-3 0, Noah Stroming 2-4 2-2 7, Ben Reif 0-0 0-0 0, Gabe Krueger 7-14 10-14 24. FG: 13-37. FT: 12-23. 3-pointers: 4-19 (Cayley 2-5, Charles 1-2, Stroming 1-3, Krueger 0-1, Moses 0-1, Heinzen 0-1, Ohrmundt 0-2, Novak 0-2, Thome 0-2). Rebounds: 32 (Krueger 10). Turnovers: 24. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: none. Record: 7-5, 1-2 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (64): Addison Hill 3-9 3-4 11, Sam Hinson 2-7 4-4 8, Bennett Koehn 0-3 0-0 0, Anthony Posteluk 8-16 7-9 26, Joey Goettl 2-6 2-2 6, Sam Roherty 2-5 0-2 5, Kyle Tremelling 2-4 3-4 7, Wyatt LeMoine 0-1 1-3 1, Matt Donavan 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Nordbeck 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 19-51. FT: 20-28. 3-pointers: 6-23 (Posteluk 3-4, Hill 2-5, Roherty 1-4, Koehn 0-3, Goettl 0-3, Hinson 0-4). Rebounds: 26 (Posteluk 6, Tremelling 6). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: none. Record: 6-5, 3-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.