This story is sponsored by Studio 211 Hair Salon
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – Marshfield junior Elliot Ashbeck did have his best game offensively, but when it came to defense, he stepped up with the two biggest plays of the night for the Tigers.
With Marshfield leading by one point in the closing seconds, Ashbeck blocked a 3-point attempt by Ryan Williams and after two free throws by Cale Zuiker, Ashbeck stole a pass near halfcourt and ran out the clock to secure a 41-38 victory for the Tigers over Stevens Point Area Senior High on Friday night at the Marshfield High School Fieldhouse.
The win keeps Marshfield unbeaten at 5-0 and a perfect 3-0 in Wisconsin Valley Conference action, and also knocks SPASH out of a first-place tie, dropping the Panthers to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the WVC.
“We kind of came together, tightened it up a little bit on the defensive end,” Ashbeck said. “I just happened to be the one that got the steals. We had to tighten up, we didn’t really have a choice. We couldn’t lose this game. I don’t want to say it would have been a season-changer, but it would have been a step in the wrong direction. It was good for us to be able to pull it out.”
The Tigers’ last four games have all come down to the fourth quarter, and each time Marshfield was able to come out on top.
Even when not playing their best, the Tigers have been able to find a way to win.
“I feel fortunate that we were able to come out with a win,” Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said. “I though the style that Stevens Point played tonight, they were clocking the ball on us while we were playing defense. We were playing long defensive possessions and sometimes for young guys that’s sometimes difficult. When they get the ball back, they haven’t had it in a while and it certainly rushed what we did.
“We didn’t have the patience that was necessary. We certainly need to work on that.”
The game was tight throughout as Marshfield had a brief five-point lead in the second quarter, but other than that, neither team led by more than three through the first three quarters.
The Panthers built a 35-30 lead after a 3-pointer by Brennan Nelson on the opening possession of the fourth quarter as Marshfield’s offense went silent.
The Tigers committed nine turnovers in the second half and only put up 12 shots, but their defense came up big when needed.
Zuiker, who finished with a game-high 19 points and eight rebounds, made a 3-pointer and Ian pardon scored to tie the game at 35-35.
Ashbeck drilled a pair of free throws to give Marshfield its first lead in 6 minutes, but Nelson came back with another 3-pointer – his fourth of the second half – to give SPASH back the lead at 38-37 with 1:29 left. The basket was SPASH’s first points in 6:03, and its last of the game.
Marshfield quickly responded when Zuiker scored inside with 54 seconds to go.
SPASH missed on its next possession, but forced a turnover and had a chance to take the lead back before Ashbeck’s block with 8 seconds to go.
Zuiker was immediately fouled after grabbing the deflection and made two free throws to put the Tigers up by three with 6.6 seconds left.
SPASH tried to set up a 3-pointer to tie the game, but Ashbeck stepped in the lane of the pass and dribbled down to the other end as time expired.
“We know that we can win the close games now,” Ashbeck said. “We’re not at the level that we want to be at yet. We don’t disguise the limit for our team. This is a team that doesn’t come around very often. We’ve got to get better, but the bottom line is we are winning games right now. That’s a good thing. Hopefully, down the stretch, we know that we can win these close games and maybe, come March, we can pull a few out like this.”
Marshfield hosts Eau Claire North in a nonconference game Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Tigers 41, Panthers 38
Stevens Point 9 10 13 6 – 38
Marshfield 7 13 10 11 – 41
STEVENS POINT (38): Tanner Kolbeck 0-2 0-0 0, Caleb Finn 0-0 0-0 0, Brennan Nelson 6-10 0-0 17, Clay Giese 3-7 0-0 7, J.T. Ford 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson Woyak 1-6 0-0 2, Cody Griffith 3-10 2-6 9, Jake Graboski 0-0 0-0 0, Ryan Williams 1-4 0-0 3. FG: 14-40. FT: 2-6. 3-pointers: 8-20 (Nelson 5-8, Giese 1-2, Griffith 1-4, Williams 1-4, Woyak 0-1, Kohlbeck 0-1). Rebounds: 17 (Griffith 4, Nelson 4). Total fouls: 15. Fouled out: Kohlbeck. Record: 4-2, 2-1 Wisconsin Valley Conference.
MARSHFIELD (41): Ian Padron 3-7 2-2 8, Elliot Ashbeck 2-5 2-2 7, Adam Voss 0-0 0-0 0, Cale Zuiker 6-11 5-5 19, Brandon Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Dustin Thumann 1-2 2-2 4, Jon Bauer 1-2 1-4 3. FG: 13-27. FT: 12-15. 3-pointers: 3-8 (Zuiker 2-5, Ashbeck 1-3). Rebounds: 27 (Zuiker 8, Thumann 7, Ashbeck 5). Total fouls: 7. Fouled out: none. Record: 5-0, 3-0 WVC.