This story is sponsored by Forward Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
AUBURNDALE – Auburndale looked down and out midway through the second half, unable to overcome a double-digit deficit that Marathon earned with a solid first half.
Down by 10 with 10½ minutes, Auburndale senior Alex Willfahrt found his 3-point stroke and quickly brought the Eagles back.
Willfahrt’s four 3-pointers in a span of 4½ minutes sparked a 26-10 run to end the game as Auburndale pulled off a miraculous 55-47 victory in a WIAA Division 4 boys basketball sectional semifinal in front of a raucous crowd at Marshfield High School.
Auburndale (24-3), seeded second in the top half of the Sectional 2 bracket, moves on to a D-4 sectional final against the top seed in the bottom half, Neenah St. Mary Catholic (25-2), on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Appleton East High School. The winner moves on to next week’s state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison. Click here for the statewide sectional scoreboard & schedule
With Marathon locking down Caden Weinfurter, who was 6-for-6 from 3-point range and scored 27 points in the Eagles’ regional final win last Saturday against Weyauwega-Fremont, someone else had to step up for Auburndale to have a chance.
Willfahrt started just 1-for-6 from the field before heating up just in the nick of time.
“Saturday, we didn’t play well,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said of the team’s regional final win over Weyauwega-Fremont. “Caden (Weinfurter) and Mason (White Eagle) played well, they saved us. Coming into a game like this, Marathon’s No. 1 deal is to take Cade away. Alex hasn’t played well of late, not to his normal standards. He missed some free throws and you could see that look in his face again, but when that first 3 went down, it just melted away. Give him credit for persevering. His sophomore year, or last year, he wouldn’t have been able to do that. He’s matured and doesn’t let that get the best of him.”
Marathon scored the first four points of the game and led for the entire first half.
Tyler Underwood scored seven-straight points for Marathon and Grant Warren had a hoop inside to help Marathon build a 19-11 lead.
The teams matched baskets before the Raiders started to pull away late in the half, closing on an 8-2 run that included a 3-pointer from Mason Seehafer and a three-point play by Drew Love, and took a 31-20 lead into halftime.
A mini 5-0 run sparked by two baskets by Mason White Eagle kept Auburndale within striking distance, before Marathon built its lead back to 10 at 41-31 on a 3-pointer from Love and a hoop by Underwood.
Willfahrt’s first made 3-pointer of the game came at the 10:35 mark and he hit another 90 seconds later, cutting the deficit to four.
Warren scored for Marathon before Willfahrt made another. After a pair of Marathon turnovers, it was Willfahrt again from the left side, tying the game at 43-43.
Evan Scholl banked in a short jumper to give Auburndale its first lead of the game at the 5:19 mark and it looked like it would go down to the wire.
Warren, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, connected off a lob on an inbounds pass to tie it, before Scholl scored off an offensive rebound. Trayton Weber added a hoop one minute later to give the Eagles a 49-45 lead with 2:17 left.
Underwood scored on Marathon’s following possession, but the Raiders would not make another basket.
Mason White Eagle made four-straight free throws and Lucas Yeske added two more to finish off the win and send Auburndale to the sectional final.
White Eagle and Willfahrt each finished with 16 points, and Yeske added 12 for Auburndale.
“Mason White Eagle, he finally realized that he could shoot over (Marathon 6-foot-10 center Grant Warren), like he did on Saturday (against Weyauwega-Fremont 7-footer Ethan Marquette),” Weinfurter said. “And Mason, he was probably our worst free throw shooter coming into the season, and he was 5-for-5 Saturday and 4-for-4 today. We didn’t make huge adjustments, but just needed to do what we do better. We had Lucas Yeske and Trayton Weber trying to play as clean as you can and keep Warren from catching the ball. It sounds simple, but against a good team and a well-coached team like Marathon, it’s hard to do.”
Underwood led Marathon with 16 points. The top-seeded Raiders finish the season with a 23-4 record.
Auburndale will be looking for its 11th trip to the state tournament and first since 2015. The Eagles have won two state titles with those coming in 1993 and 2000.
Eagles 55, Raiders 47
Marathon 31 16 – 47
Auburndale 20 35 – 55
MARATHON (47): Cooper Hoeksema 0-5 0-0 0, Pierson Hamann 0-0 0-0 0, Drew Woelfel 1-1 0-1 2, Drew Love 5-12 1-3 12, Daniel LaQua 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Underwood 7-11 0-0 16, Mason Seehafer 1-3 0-0 3, Payton Lawrence 0-0 0-0 0, Grant Warren 6-10 2-3 14. FG: 20-42. FT: 3-7. 3-pointers: 4-15 (Underwood 2-3, Seehafer 1-1, Love 1-5, Warren 0-2, Hoeksema 0-4). Rebounds: 25 (Warren 12). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 23-4.
AUBURNDALE (55): Blake Raab 1-2 0-2 3, Trayton Weber 1-2 0-0 2, Lucas Yeske 4-9 2-2 12, Alex Willfahrt 5-13 2-6 16, Evan Scholl 3-7 0-0 6, Mason White Eagle 6-10 4-4 16, Caden Weinfurter 0-2 0-0 0, Kaden Anderson 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 20-46. FT: 8-14. 3-pointers: 7-18 (Willfahrt 4-9, Yeske 2-4, Raab 1-2, Weinfurter 0-1, Scholl 0-2). Rebounds: 21 (White Eagle 4, Scholl 4, Yeske 4). Turnovers: 5. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 24-3.