This story is sponsored by: Wisconsin Homes of Marshfield
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield boys basketball team finished off its Wisconsin Valley Conference championship in style on Friday afternoon at the Chips Hamburgers Fieldhouse at Marshfield High School.
All 14 players on the roster saw significant action, with 11 hitting the scoring column, as Marshfield shot lights out and rolled to an 84-52 victory over Merrill.
The Tigers, who had already clinched their second-straight conference title, used the game as a tune-up for the upcoming WIAA playoffs as well as to honor their eight seniors – with reserves Jeff Marsh and Ryan Donovan part of the starting lineup.
Donovan made his mark early, scoring the first two hoops for Marshfield, which started on a 6-0 run and never trailed. He finished with nine points and four rebounds.
After Merrill rallied to tie the game at 14-14 following consecutive 3-pointers from E.J. Weix and Croix Woller, Marshfield ripped off 13-straight points as Brooks Hinson hit two 3-pointers, Braxton Kurth added another, and Landon Lee and Owen Hanson chipped in with buckets to give the Tigers a 27-14 lead.
Kurth added another 3-pointer, as did junior guard Landon Lee, and Sam Meverden scored a pair of baskets inside to help Marshfield take a dominating 41-21 lead into halftime. Marshfield shot 63 percent from the field (17-for-27) and 7-for-11 from 3-point range in the first half, and finished at 61 percent (35-for-57) overall in the game.
“The last four or five games we’ve shot it poorly and we haven’t had a game lately where we were knocking down shots,” Marshfield coach Chris Fischer said. “It came early and it came in bunches, and it became contagious.”
Marshfield led by as many as 36 in the second half after Luke LeMoine and Kurth scored, Owen Hanson had a three-point play, and Lee drilled another 3-pointer to make it 60-24 with 12:46 to go.
A mix of reserves and starters finished off the victory as Marshfield finishes the regular season with an 18-6 record and an 11-1 mark in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.
Kurth went 4-for-5 from 3-point range and scored a career-high 16 points, and Hanson added 13 for the Tigers, whose 84 points are a season-high.
Troy Mootz led Merrill (9-14, 4-8 WVC) with 15 points.
Marshfield will have a week off before hosting Appleton North for a WIAA Division 1 regional semifinal next Friday, March 3.
“We need this going into the playoffs,” Fischer said. “Next Friday night is going to be a battle. Appleton North is really, really good. They beat Fond du Lac on the road, the (Fox Valley Association) conference champion, they beat Kimberly on the road, they beat Appleton East – two teams we got beat by, so we’ve got our hands full. We needed a night like tonight.”
Tigers 84, Bluejays 52
Merrill 21 31 – 52
Marshfield 41 43 – 84
MERRILL (52): James Watts 1-1 0-0 2, Carter Baede 0-6 1-2 1, Bradyn Pieper 1-8 0-0 3, Croix Woller 2-3 0-0 5, Kory Page 2-4 1-2 6, E.J. Weix 4-8 1-1 12, Jaden Bush 1-4 0-0 3, Ondre Houghton 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Reimann 0-0 2-2 2, Carson Woellner 0-0 0-0 0, Troy Mootz 6-9 1-1 15, Johnny Handlin 1-1 0-0 3. FG: 18-45. FT: 6-8. 3-pointers: 9-25 (Weix 3-5, Mootz 2-4, Handlin 1-1, Woller 1-2, Page 1-3, Pieper 1-4, Bush 1-4, Houghton 0-1, Baade 0-4). Rebounds: 17 (Watts 4). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 5. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-14, 4-8 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (84): Luke LeMoine 4-7 0-0 8, Braxton Kurth 6-8 0-0 16, Bennett Lang 0-2 0-0 0, Jeff Marsh 1-3 0-0 2, Brooks Hinson 3-5 0-0 9, Brant Freis 0-0 0-0 0, Landon Lee 2-3 0-0 6, Maxx Oertel 2-4 0-0 5, Noah Daniels 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Meverden 2-2 0-0 4, Ryan Donovan 4-7 0-1 9, Carson Matis 2-4 0-0 6, Chris Pohl 3-3 0-0 6, Owen Hanson 6-8 1-2 13. FG: 35-57. FT: 1-3. 3-pointers: 13-23 (Kurth 4-5, Hinson 3-4, Lee 2-3, Matis 2-4, Donovan 1-2, Oertel 1-2, Marsh 0-1, Lang 0-2). Rebounds: 32 (Kurth 5). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 18-6, 11-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.