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MarshfieldAreaSports.com
STRATFORD – Derek Austin continued his offensive hot streak, scoring 25 points to lead the Stratford boys basketball team to a 54-53 win over Wausau Newman Catholic in a Marawood Conference South Division game Tuesday night at Stratford High School.
Austin, who scored 31 points in a win over Lincoln Hills last week, was 8 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and made 8 of 11 free throws for the Tigers, who improve to 5-4 and 2-3 in the Marawood South. Newman falls to 2-7 and 1-4 in the conference.
The game was tight in the first half, with the Tigers holding a slim 27-25 lead the break. Stratford pulled ahead by seven with a 12-6 third quarter, but the Cardinals made it close late with a 22-15 advantage in the fourth.
Stratford made 22 of 51 shots from the field and again struggled from the free-throw line, making just 9 of 19 – a combined 1 of 8 for players other than Austin.
Troy Mengel added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Stratford, which hosts Wisconsin Rapids Assumption on Friday.
Ryan Strasser had 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead Newman.
Tigers 54, Cardinals 53
Wausau Newman 9 16 6 22 – 53
Stratford 11 16 12 15 – 54
NEWMAN (53): Nate Gosz 0-2 0-0 0, Justin Heeg 1-3 0-0 2, Brad Knoblock 4-6 0-0 11, Marcus Gabriel 1-6 2-2 5, Patrick Drechsler 1-2 0-0 2, Luke Hruska 3-9 0-0 8, Ryan Strasser 9-18 6-8 25. FG: 19-46. FT: 8-10. 3-pointers: 7-19 (Knoblock 3-4, Hruska 2-6, Strasser 1-2, Gabriel 1-5, Heeg 0-2). Rebounds: 22 (Strasser 11). Assists: 14 (Knoblock 3, Drechsler 3, Strasser 3). Record: 2-7, 1-4 Marawood South.
STRATFORD (54): Nolan Bargender 5-9 0-1 10, Ben Kraus 0-2 0-0 0, John Rutherford 1-1 0-0 2, Derek Austin 8-16 8-11 25, Austin Shelley 1-8 0-3 2, Josh Reif 0-3 0-0 0, Troy Mengel 7-12 1-4 15. FG: 22-51. FT: 9-19. 3-pointers: 3-8 (Austin 3-5, Kraus 0-1, Reif 0-2). Rebounds: 29 (Mengel 11). Assists: 10 (Shelley 5). Record: 4-3, 2-3 Marawood South.