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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – The Marshfield Columbus Catholic boys basketball team faces its toughest tests during the next week in its quest for a third-straight Cloverbelt Conference East Division title.
Columbus Catholic, Neillsville and Loyal entered Cloverbelt East play Tuesday all unbeaten in the conference, and following play, the Dons are the only one left standing.
The Dons used a 15-0 run early in the game to open a big lead and held on from there, dowing Neillsville 72-60 at Columbus Catholic High School.
Columbus Catholic is now 10-2 overall and 7-0 in the Cloverbelt East, while Neillsville falls to 8-2 and 5-1 in the conference. Owen-Withee topped Loyal 45-40 on Tuesday, knocking the Greyhounds to 5-1 in the conference. Columbus plays at Loyal next Monday.
Nick Malovrh was 6-for-8 from the field and 3-for-3 at the free throw line in the first half as he scored 16 of his game-high 23 points as the Dons took a 40-20 lead into halftime.
The Dons went on a 15-0 run, which included back-to-back baskets from Bryce Fuerlinger and two-point and three-point baskets by Ethan Meece, to grab a 17-3 advantage 6 minutes into the game.
Neillsville cut it to 19-13 on a 3-pointer from Noah Henchen and a basket by Braden Trunkel, but the Dons finished the half strong, holding the Warriors without a basket from the field for more than 4 minutes.
Columbus closed the half on a 13-2 run, with Neillsville’s only points coming on a pair of free throws from Hunter Hand with 1:20 to go.
“I thought in the first half we played really well as a group,” Columbus coach Joe Konieczny said. “I thought Nick Malovrh and Jarred Mandel handled (Neillsville’s) triangle-and-two (defense) well. I give Neillsville a ton of credit. I think at halftime they adjusted a little bit, they weren’t so focused on those two, and really caused us some havoc.”
Columbus scored just two points over a 6-minute stretch as the Warriors closed to within 48-37 on a three-point play by Alex King and two hoops from Logan Matson.
Neillsville got as close as eight at 54-46 with 6:23 to go, but couldn’t make up any more ground.
The Dons made 10 of 14 free throws in the final 5:54 to hold on.
Noah Taylor finished with 11 points, and Meece and Fuerlinger each had 10 points, with Fuerlinger grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds for the Dons.
Matson led Neillsville with 13 points and King chipped in 11.
“Noah Hansen had three or four really big finishes in the second half when they cut it to 10 or 12, and we did just enough sharing the basketball and making free throws. We played a really good team with a nice winning streak and came out with a win. I’m really proud of our boys.”
Columbus hosts Colby on Friday before its game at Loyal on Monday.
Dons 72, Warriors 60
Neillsville 20 40 – 60
Columbus Catholic 40 32 – 72
NEILLSVILLE (60): Hunter Hand 3-9 4-8 10, Isaac Weiers 0-2 0-0 0, Braden Trunkel 2-3 3-3 7, Noah Henchen 3-5 0-0 9, Alex King 3-11 4-5 11, Monte Diestler 3-7 2-2 10, Dominic Elmhorst 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Mayer 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Katcher 0-1 0-0 0, Logan Matson 4-11 5-11 13. FG: 18-49. FT: 18-29. 3-pointers: 6-17 (Henchen 3-4, Diestler 2-3 King 1-4, Matson 0-3, Weiers 0-2, Hand 0-1). Rebounds: 28 (Matson 7). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Trunkel, Matson. Record: 8-2, 5-1 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (72): Evan Dieringer 0-1 0-0 0, Nick Hutchison 0-2 0-0 0, Peyton Nystrom 0-2 2-2 2, Nick Malovrh 8-11 5-5 23, Bryce Fuerlinger 4-6 2-2 10, Noah Taylor 3-12 5-6 11, Ethan Meece 4-7 0-2 10, Noah Hansen 4-6 1-2 9, Jarred Mandel 3-8 1-5 7. FG: 26-55. FT: 16-24. 3-pointers: 4-18 (Meece 2-3, Malovrh 2-5, Nystrom 0-1, Dieringer 0-1, Fuerlinger 0-1, Hutchison 0-2, Taylor 0-2, Mandel 0-3). Rebounds: 34 (Fuerlinger 12). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Mandel, Meece. Record: 10-2, 7-0 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.