This story is sponsored by Total Electric
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – As an inexperienced team, the Marshfield Columbus Catholic boys basketball squad is going through the growing pains associated with the early part of the season.
Playing its fourth game in eight days to start to the year, the Dons were not clicking on offense, but their defensive performance, especially in the second half, was good enough to get them a win.
Columbus scored the first seven points of the second half to open up a double-digit lead and held off Spencer for a 62-47 victory in Cloverbelt Conference East Division action Friday night at Columbus Catholic High School.
The Dons led 37-30 at halftime on the strength of a 17-10 run during the final 5 minutes of the half, then blew it open with seven-straight points in the first 2 minutes of the second half.
After a 3-pointer from Austin Bacon stemmed the tide for the Rockets, neither team scored for nearly 4 minutes and Spencer went without a hoop for a full 4½ minutes.
Columbus (3-1, 2-0 Cloverbelt East) held the Rockets to just five made field goals in the second half, two of those coming in the final 4 minutes after the Dons had opened up a 57-38 lead.
“We had them down early and Jack Bezlyk was an absolute force, we just couldn’t keep him off the boards,” Columbus Catholic coach Joe Konieczny said. “We probably got them an extra 8-10 possessions. I think we maybe coasted a little. I give credit to Spencer, they played us really tough and we have a lot to learn from this.”
Senior Nick Malovrh, the only returning starter from a Columbus Catholic team that won the Cloverbelt East championship and went all the way to the WIAA state tournament a year ago, was the catalyst for the Dons. He scored 25 points, 19 in the first half, and blanketed Bezlyk, Spencer’s top scorer, all game, holding him to 4 of 12 shooting and just 11 points, although he did have 12 rebounds.
“We switched to man and their possessions became a lot longer,” Konieczny said. “We were contesting more shots and holding them to one shot. Offensively, Nick knocked down some shots. We missed a lot of layups and free throws tonight, but we had enough of Nick Malovrh to get us through.”
Spencer (1-1 overall and Cloverbelt East) is also still trying to find its way after losing two potential starters to injuries during the football season.
“I was really happy with the way we played,” Spencer coach Randy Reckner said. “Columbus is really good, they have a lot of quickness that caused us a lot of problems, but we really battled hard as a team out there. We have some kids that have no varsity experience and we’re still learning and growing as a team.
“They switched up defenses on us all night long and part of our problem was recognition. We’ll get better as the year goes on.”
Columbus Catholic plays at Granton on Dec. 7, while Spencer hosts Pittsville for a nonconference game Tuesday and plays at home against Owen-Withee on Dec. 7.
Dons 62, Rockets 47
Spencer 30 17 – 47
Columbus Catholic 37 25 – 62
SPENCER (47): Kyler Bainer 0-1 0-0 0, Jacob Schultz 0-0 0-0 0, Brett Kasch 0-3 2-2 2, Austin Bacon 3-7 4-6 11, Cody Vircks 0-1 1-2 1, Jack Bezlyk 4-12 2-4 11, Collin Nieman 3-5 4-5 10, Brandon Much 2-7 2-4 6, Nate Karau 3-9 0-0 6, Will Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 15-45. FT: 15-23. 3-pointers: 2-9 (Bacon 1-2, Bezlyk 1-3, Nieman 0-1, Bainer 0-1, Kasch 0-2). Rebounds: 40 (Bezlyk 12, Karau 10). Turnovers: 22. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: none. Record: 1-1 overall and Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (62): Evan Dieringer 0-3 0-0 0, Nick Hutchison 0-1 1-2 1, Peyton Nystrom 1-1 0-0 02, Matt Olson 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Malovrh 9-16 5-7 25, Bryce Fuerlinger 0-2 4-6 4, Joey Miller 0-0 0-0 0, Noah Taylor 2-8 1-2 5, Ethan Meece 3-6 3-4 10, Noah Hansen 2-4 0-2 4, Jarred Mandel 4-13 2-5 11. FG: 21-54. FT: 16-28. 3-pointers: 4-16 (Malovrh 2-7, Mancel 1-6, Meece 1-1, Dieringer 0-1, Hutchison 0-1). Rebounds: 30 (Fuerlinger 10). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: none. Record: 3-1, 2-0 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.