This story is sponsored by: Sternweis & Sons
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.
The Auburndale boys basketball team used that philosophy as it went through one of, if not it’s worst shooting game of the season against Athens on Thursday night at Auburndale High School.
The Eagles trailed by as many as nine in the second half, and despite missing their first 21 3-point attempts, they hit their last two and pulled out an improbable 50-49 win over Athens in a Marawood Conference crossover game.
With the help of Athens missing 10 of 16 free throw attempts down the stretch, Auburndale was able to stick around and make a run in the final three minutes.
Alex Willfahrt ended the 3-point shooting drought with a long ball to bring Auburndale back to within two at 45-43 with 2:28 to go.
Athens pulled back ahead by five after two free throws from Aiden Janke, before Mason White Eagle converted a three-point play with 1:10 left.
After an Athens turnover, Willfahrt connected on another 3-pointer to give the Eagles the lead with 49 seconds remaining. Athens missed on a 3-pointer before Auburndale missed two free throws with 3.4 seconds left, giving Athens a chance at a half-court heave that hit the backboard and bounced off at the buzzer.
“Scouting them, I really thought they were going to be a tough team to defend, and I thought our guys, for the most part, did a really nice job with it,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “That was our worst shooting performance of the year, but it was nice to win a game like that where you know you can win even when the shots aren’t falling. You keep going and hopefully that’s a lesson learned for our team in a tournament-type game.”
The game was back-and-forth throughout the first half as there were five lead changes.
Auburndale charged out to an 8-3 lead after baskets by Mason White Eagle and Evan School, before Athens stayed in it with its 3-point shooting, going 4-for-5 in a stretch as they took a 15-14 lead.
Another 3-pointer from Connor Komarek pushed Athens’ lead to 20-16 only to see Auburndale go on a 9-2 run that included an Alex Willfahrt three-point play. Aiden Janke hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer for Athens, tying the game at 25-25.
A basket inside by Trayton Weber put the Eagles up 30-29 4 minutes into the second half before they went cold.
Auburndale missed six-straight shots and Athens took advantage. Three-point plays by Riley Schultz-Becker and Janke helped the Bluejays cruise out to a 39-30 lead and Auburndale was playing catch-up for the final nine minutes.
Athens, which had been 6-for-8 at the free throw line up to that point, could not convert during the final seven minutes, missing 10 of its final 16 attempts as the Eagles completed the comeback.
Willfahrt finished with 20 points and White Eagle added 14, while Scholl pulled down eight rebounds and Lucas Yeske had seven in the win for Auburndale (17-3, 11-3 Marawood South).
“Alex made some great plays down the stretch, like a senior leader should, and it helped that they missed free throws,” Weinfurter said. “I tell those guys, shooters shoot, if you’re in rhythm, shoot the ball.”
Janke had 19 points and Connor Sheahan added 16 for Athens, which falls to 15-5 overall and 11-3 in the Marawood North, already having wrapped up the conference title.
Auburndale will enjoy a week off before hosting Wisconsin Rapids Assumption for a Marawood South contest on Friday, Feb. 17. Athens will be at home for a nonconference game Monday against Pittsville.
Eagles 50, Bluejays 49
Athens 25 24 – 49
Auburndale 25 25 – 50
ATHENS (49): Connor Sheahan 5-10 5-7 16, Riley Schultz-Becker 1-3 1-1 3, Nathan Wolf 0-2 1-6 1, Ty Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Andrew Schaer 2-8 1-2 6, Connor Komarek 1-3 1-2 4, Aiden Janke 6-11 5-12 19. FG: 15-37. FT: 14-26. 3-pointers: 5-18 (Janke 2-3, Komarek 1-2, Sheahan 1-4, Schaer 1-5, Wolf 0-2, Schultz-Becker 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (Janke 7). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: Komarek, Janke. Record: 15-5, 11-3 Marawood Conference North Division.
AUBURNDALE (50): Blake Raab 1-3 0-2 2, Trayton Weber 1-1 2-4 4, Lucas Yeske 2-7 0-0 4, Kaden Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Willfahrt 7-15 4-6 20, Evan Scholl 2-5 0-0 4, Mason White Eagle 5-7 4-6 14, Caden Weinfurter 1-9 0-0 2. FG: 19-48. FT: 10-18. 3-pointers: 2-23 (Willfahrt 2-8, Raab 0-1, Scholl 0-3, Yeske 0-4, Weinfurter 0-7). Rebounds: 32 (Scholl 8). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-3, 11-3 Marawood Conference South Division.