This story is sponsored by: The Marshfield Tiger Booster Club
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield boys basketball team was looking for a signature win against a team in its sectional field and the Tigers got it Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers were an efficient 19-for-30 from the field as senior forward Luke LeMoine poured in 29 points in a decisive 55-42 win over Hudson at the Chips Hamburgers Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
LeMoine was 11-for-12 shooting, hitting numerous fadeaway jumpers and both of his 3-point attempts for Marshfield.
Marshfield extends its winning streak to nine and improves to 11-4 overall, while Hudson, ranked No. 8 in this week’s Wissports.net Division 1 State Coaches Poll, falls to 10-3 after losing for the second time this week.
“Coach (Jake) Scheppler and Coach (Josh) Rottscheit had a fantastic scouting report on (Hudson),” Marshfield head coach Chris Fischer said. “When you play these games on back-to-back nights, you rely on your coaching staff to be that ‘game-ahead’ scout.
“The fact that we only had 30 shot attempts tonight isn’t surprising. We knew what we had to do and what we were up against.”
Both teams started out hot as Hudson took a 13-11 lead after a three-point play by Ben Healy five minutes into the game.
Marshfield responded with a 10-0 run and never trailed again. LeMoine scored seven points and Brooks Hinson capped the surge with a hoop to put the Tigers on top 21-13.
Another basket by LeMoine with three seconds left in the half gave the Tigers a 29-20 lead at the break.
Hudson was able to get as close as six early in the second half, but a 9-0 run sparked by LeMoine’s seven points and a layup from Hinson pushed Marshfield’s lead back to 16 and it was able to cruise from there.
Hinson finished with 11 points and Owen Hanson added 10, while LeMoine also collected a team-high eight rebounds for Marshfield.
“Both of those guys (LeMoine and Hanson) have very good footwork,” Fischer said. “When they get themselves into trouble, they are very good and playing off of two feet, pivoting, pivoting again and not panicking if they get doubled. They can find openings and a gaps and finish at the basket.”
Healy led Hudson with 13 points.
Marshfield plays a nonconference game at Chippewa Falls on Tuesday before hosting D.C. Everest in a big Wisconsin Valley Conference game Friday. Marshfield holds a one-game lead over Everest in the WVC standings.
Tigers 55, Raiders 42
Hudson 20 22 – 42
Marshfield 29 26 – 55
HUDSON (42): Samuel Swavely 1-2 0-0 2, Payton Lawrence 0-2 0-0 0, Sam Schwalback 2-5 0-0 6, Jackson Maalis 0-1 0-0 0, Ben Healy 5-10 3-4 13, Tyler Lessard 3-9 0-0 6, Benjamin Berkhof 1-5 0-0 3, Ross Yaeger 4-5 0-0 10, Sam LaBlanc 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 17-42. FT: 3-4. 3-pointers: 5-19 (Yaeger 2-3, Schwalback 2-5, Berkhof 1-4, Swavely 0-1, Lessard 0-2, Healy 0-2, Lawrence 0-2). Rebounds: 13 (Berkhof 3, Yaeger 3). Turnovers: 14. Fouls: 18. Fouled out: Healy. Record: 10-3.
MARSHFIELD (55): Luke LeMoine 11-12 5-7 29, Braxton Kurth 0-2 0-0 0, Brooks Hinson 4-8 2-3 11, Landon Lee 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Meverden 2-2 0-0 4, Chris Pohl 0-1 1-2 1, Owen Hanson 2-4 6-6 10. FG: 19-30. FT: 14-18. 3-pointers: 3-8 (LeMoine 2-2, Hinson 1-2, Pohl 0-1, Lee 0-1, Kurth 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (LeMoine 8). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 8. Fouled out: none. Record: 11-4.