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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
MARSHFIELD – For the fourth time in the last five years, the Marshfield boys basketball team is heading to sectionals.
After Medford scored to open the game, the Tigers used a 16-0 run to blow it open early and went on to a 69-42 victory in a WIAA Division 2 regional final Saturday night at Marshfield High School.
Marshfield (13-11) moves into a D-2 sectional semifinal against a familiar foe, Merrill (16-8), which will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Wausau East. La Crosse Central (22-2) and Onalaska (20-3) will play in the other sectional semifinal. The sectional final is March 10 at Stevens Point Area Senior High.
Marshfield beat Merrill twice during the regular season in Wisconsin Valley Conference play, while Onalaska and Central split a pair of games during the Mississippi Valley Conference campaign.
“It’s always nice to be able to play at your place,” Marshfield coach Scott Scheuer said. “It’s never easy to play a team three times. The pressure is on us. They do a lot of the same stuff, play man-to-man and get after you. We’re really, really similar and it should be good sectional game.”
With leading scorer Seth Anderson dealing with an illness and scoring only two points in the first half, the Tigers used a team effort to take control early.
Seven different players scored for Marshfield in its 16-0 run that gave the Tigers a commanding 16-2 lead 7:40 into the game.
Sophomore guard Anthony Posteluk provided a spark, making a pair of 3-pointers and scoring eight of his 11 points in the first half for the Tigers.
Marshfield took a 26-15 lead into halftime and scored the first eight points of the second half, which included a 3-pointer by Brant Bohman, who had 13 points, and a pair of baskets by Anderson to open up a 34-15 advantage.
Medford (15-10), who upset No. 1 seed Rhinelander in overtime on Friday night, struggled shooting for most of the game, but made one run to make it interesting.
Ben Lindgren and Dain Strick hit 3-pointers in a 12-6 run to get the Raiders to within 40-27, before Marshfield put the game away.
Posteluk hit another 3-pointer, Bohman converted a three-point play and Tommy Olson drilled a 3-pointer from the left corner to help Marshfield go up 58-34 with 5:12 left.
Anderson finished with 14 points and standings seven points shy of breaking the program’s single-season scoring record held by Bill Rhyner, who set the mark in the 1967-68 season. Olson added 10 as four Tigers scored in double figures.
“I thought our energy was good as a whole, but there were times where we were catching our breath on the defensive end,” Scheuer said. “I thought our offense, especially against their pressure, we got some easy hoops and that really changes momentum. Sometimes your effort and your performance don’t match, but I thought tonight our effort equaled our performance.
“Tony (Posteluk), John (Reigel), and Tommy (Olson) all stepped up tonight with some guys in foul trouble. I’m really happy for them.”
Tigers 69, Raiders 42
Medford 15 27 – 42
Marshfield 26 43 – 69
MEDFORD (42): Justin Sullivan 2-3 0-0 5, Peyton Kuhn 0-4 0-0 0, Blaine Studinger 0-0 0-0 0, Cameron Wenzel 4-18 7-10 16, Dain Strick 1-6 0-0 3, Josh Fredrikson 0-0 0-0 0, Cade Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Lindgren 2-7 0-0 6, Doug Way 5-7 0-7 10, Logan Wildberg 0-1 0-0 0, No. 22 (no name provided) 0-2 0-0 0, John McMurry 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 15-51. FT: 7-17. 3-pointers: 5-26 (Lindgren 2-4, Sullivan 1-2, Strick 1-4, Wenzel 1-10, Wildberg 0-1, McMurry 0-1, Kuhn 0-2, No. 22 0-2). Rebounds: 25 (Way 7). Turnovers 7. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Strick. Record: 15-10.
MARSHFIELD (69): Issac Meverden 1-3 0-0 2, Brant Bohman 5-9 2-3 13, Tommy Olson 2-4 5-6 10, Reed Miller 2-4 1-2 7, Seth Anderson 6-11 2-2 14, Sam Hinson 0-0 0-0 0, Preston Wagner 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Posteluk 4-4 0-0 11, John Reigel 2-2 2-2 6, Cody Korth 0-0 0-0 0, Joey Goettl 1-1 1-2 3, Grant Urban 1-1 1-2 3. FG: 24-39. FT: 14-19. 3-pointers: 7-14 (Posteluk 3-3, Miller 2-4, Olson 1-2, Bohman 1-4, Meverden 0-1). Rebounds: 31 (Bohman 8). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: none. Record: 13-11.