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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
WESTON – Superior’s stingy 1-2-2 zone defense and penetration on the offense end was too much for Marshfield to handle.
The Spartans used an 8-0 run in the second quarter and another 9-0 run in the fourth to blow past Marshfield 60-48 in a WIAA Division 1 boys basketball sectional semifinal Thursday night at D.C. Everest High School.
Superior (17-7) moves on to a sectional final against D.C. Everest (19-5) on Saturday night. The winner moves one game away from the state tournament and into a Super Tuesday contest at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Marshfield wraps up its season with a 17-7 record and ends the best two-year stretch in school history with 35 wins.
“It’s been a great group and you feel the worst for them,” Marshfield coach Craig Michaelis said of the six graduating seniors. “It’s probably not the results that we expected. I’m sure every person on the team, players and coaches, expected a little better result in the Valley than we ended up. The postseason, boy, it would have been nice to get one more win and get to that Super Tuesday game.
“There are a lot of teams that struggle their way through seasons and end up in that .500 range, so you have feel good about a 17-7 season. I hope the younger kids appreciated the effort and the things that went into it so when it comes their turn as they step through, we can continue to build on that. It was a good and a team effort.”
Cale Zuiker, who finished with a team-high 16 points, hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the first quarter as Marshfield kept pace and trailed by just three at 17-14 after eight minutes. Then the Tigers’ shooting woes began.
Marshfield made just 1 of 11 shots in the second quarter and watched Superior’s Josh Kimmes score six points in an 8-0 run that pushed the Spartans lead to 25-16.
The Tigers’ 6-minute scoreless streak ended with two free throws from Elliot Ashbeck, but Joel Lindberg, who had a game-high 20 points, responded with a basket as time expired to give Superior a nine-point lead at halftime.
“We need to shoot the ball better,” Michaelis said. “This time of the year, everybody’s good and you can’t have those kind of nights. When you have them, it usually costs you. Some of that is us and some of that you have to credit to Superior and what they did.”
A three-point play by Ashbeck (15 points, seven rebounds) and a basket by Ian Padron cut the Tigers’ deficit to seven 1:07 into the second half, but again the offense went cold. Marshfield missed five straight shots and had three turnovers on its next seven possessions and fell behind by 12 before Luke Zuiker made a basket with 2:16 left in the quarter.
Marshfield got as close as eight early in the fourth quarter after two free throws by Jon Bauer, but Superior responded with a 12-2 run, including nine straight points to opened up a 49-31 lead with 4:30 to go. Marshfield got no closer than 11 the rest of the way and finished 15 of 48 shooting.
“There are certain things you can’t do against them,” Michaelis said. “Turning the ball over, against their pressure, and giving them easy looks that way, and putting them at the foul line – they had 30-plus free-throw attempts – and you can’t do that. It makes it an up-hill climb.
“You have to have more of an inside-out approach than we did tonight. I thought we had it flipped in the wrong direction tonight. We were more perimeter-oriented early and you can’t do that.”
Spartans 60, Tigers 48
Marshfield 14 4 9 21 – 48
Superior 17 10 10 23 – 60
MARSHFIELD (48): Sully Luepke 1-3 0-0 3, Ian Padron 2-6 1-2 5, Elliot Ashbeck 3-14 8-9 15, Cale Zuiker 6-17 0-0 16, Luke Zuiker 2-6 0-0 4, Dustin Thumann 0-1 0-0 0, Jon Bauer 1-1 3-4 5. FG: 15-48. FT: 12-15. 3-pointers: 6-21 (Zuiker 4-14, Ashbeck 1-4, Luepke 1-2, Thumann 0-1). Rebounds: 25 (Ashbeck 7). Turnovers: 14. Total fouls: 24. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-7.
SUPERIOR (60): Ethan Anderson 1-1 0-0 3, Rob Kraft 3-6 2-3 9, Nate Knutson 3-7 4-6 11, Darcell Williams 0-2 0-0 0, Dustin Hobson 1-2 1-3 3, Joel Lindberg 7-12 6-12 20, Josh Kimmes 4-8 6-8 14. FG: 19-38. FT: 19-32. 3-pointers: 3-5 (Anderson 1-1, Kraft 1-1, Knutson 1-2, Williams 0-1). Rebounds: 24 (Knutson 7). Turnovers: 9. Total fouls: 15. Fouled out: none. Record: 17-7.