This story is sponsored by: Chips Hamburgers of Marshfield and Wisconsin Rapids
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – With Stratford playing its season-opener and Neillsville just its second game of the season, it was apparent that the teams’ defensive play was ahead of the offense.
Both teams shot under 40 percent and combined for 34 turnovers, but nonetheless it was an exciting finish as neither team led by more than three in the second half and Stratford was able to hold off two late shot attempts to defeat the Warriors 43-41 in the nonconference boys basketball matchup Tuesday night at Stratford High School.
Henry Zaleski scored with 2:05 left to give Stratford a 42-39 lead. After Bryce Erickson countered for Neillsville 25 seconds later, neither team scored from the field the rest of the way.
Brady Schmidt made a free throw with 17 seconds to go to bump the Tigers’ lead to two, and a 3-point attempt and a shot off an offensive rebound did not go for Neillsville in final 5 seconds, securing the win for the Tigers.
“You have to hit shots and you’re not sure where they are going to come from,” Stratford coach Curt Schmidt said. “We hit some big shots when we needed to. The guys are rusty and nobody’s in a good rhythm offensively. I thought Drew Bruesewitz did a good job at the end of the first half and in the second half – under control, played with command.
“We’re a major work in progress offensively. Defensively we had to run a lot of gimmicks. Our man-to-man is not there yet.”
Neillsville ran out to a 9-2 lead after a three-point play by Max Kreitlow. Stratford countered with an 8-0 run that saw back-to-back 3-pointers from Schmidt and Zaleski to take a one-point lead and the game was tight the rest of the way.
After falling behind by four, Stratford closed the first half on an 8-2 run, including Schmidt’s second 3-pointer and another from Bruesewitz, to give the Tigers a 23-21 lead at intermission.
There were nine lead changes and three ties in the 12 minutes of the second half. A 3-pointer by Zaleski gave Stratford a 38-37 lead with 6:08 left and the Tigers were able to hold on the rest of the way.
Prior to Schmidt’s made free throw with 17 seconds to go, Stratford missed five-straight free throws in the closing minute following two fouls and a technical foul on Neillsville. The Warriors were unable to take advantage as they committed a turnover and missed on all four of their field goal attempts.
“I’m glad to get a win,” Curt Schmidt said. “You don’t always expect to win when you’ve had hardly any practices. I think once we get to the point that we have some guys that can hit some shots, I don’t know who they all are yet…I think we can be solid. The lack of height is going to hurt, but once we get in a rhythm offensive, we can get easier baskets.”
Bruesewitz finished with 13 points and Zaleski added 12 to lead Stratford. Andrew Hoeser made three 3-pointers and had nine points for Neillsville (0-2).
Stratford returns to action Friday when it hosts Prentice in a Marawood Conference crossover game as part of a girls-boys doubleheader. The girls game starts at 5:30 p.m. with the boys to follow at approximately 7:15 p.m.
Tigers 43, Warriors 41
Neillsville 21 20 – 41
Stratford 23 20 – 43
NEILLSVILLE (41): Wesley Swita 2-4 0-0 5, Cameron Kennedy 1-3 0-0 2, Braylon Boyer 1-4 0-0 3, Andrew Hoeser 3-8 0-0 9, Micah Zoeschke 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Erickson 3-7 0-0 6, Ashten Schultz 2-7 0-0 4, Max Kreitlow 3-4 1-1 8, Jace Pekol 0-1 0-0 0, Sam Hayes 2-6 0-0 4. FG: 17-44. FT: 1-1. 3-pointers: 6-20 (Hoeser 3-7, Switz 1-2, Kreitlow 1-2, Boyer 1-4, Erickson 0-1, Schultz 0-2, Kennedy 0-2). Rebounds: 23 (Schultz 4). Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: none. Record: 0-2.
STRATFORD (43): Caleb Wrensch 1-1 0-0 2, Alec Chapel 1-4 0-0 3, Reid Miller 1-4 0-0 2, Jett Schoenherr 0-1 1-2 1, Drew Bruesewitz 4-5 2-2 13, Payton Glenn 1-4 0-0 3, Henry Zaleski 5-14 0-1 12, Kaden Foster 0-2 0-0 0, Brady Schmidt 2-6 1-5 7. FG: 15-41. FT: 4-10. 3-pointers: 9-24 (Bruesewitz 3-4, Zaleski 2-4, Schmidt 2-5, Chapel 1-3, Glenn 1-3, Foster 0-2, Miller 0-3). Rebounds: 20 (Zaleski 4). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 1-0.