By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

AUBURNDALE – The Auburndale boys basketball team has been itching to get back in a game since its loss in a sectional final last March.

The Apaches finally got the chance Tuesday, opening their 2014-15 season with a 62-36 win over Marshfield Columbus Catholic at Auburndale High School.

Auburndale used a 13-2 run over the first 6 minutes of the second quarter to take a 27-10 lead and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

Josh VanSchoick scored 12 of his game-high 21 points in the second half and Matt Nikolay had 14 of his 15 points in the first half for the Apaches.

Evan Nikolai led Columbus Catholic (2-3) with 17 points, making 6 of 9 shots from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers.

“I thought we played really good defense in the first half and took care of the ball,” Auburndale coach Chad Weinfurter said. “I thought Josh VanSchoick did a great job finishing around the hoop in the fourth quarter and that really broke it open.”

Nikolay hit four 3-pointers in the first half and VanSchoick added nine points as the senior combo had 23 of the Apaches’ 30 points in the opening half. Auburndale led 30-14 at the break.

Columbus Catholic climbed to within 13 after holding Auburndale scoreless over the final 4:46 of the third quarter. Brett Loveland and Nikolai scored to cut the Apaches’ lead to 36-23.

The Dons couldn’t get any closer as Auburndale sizzled offensively in the fourth quarter.

Auburndale made its first seven shots – four from VanSchoick – and outscored the Dons 21-4 over the first 4:30 of the fourth to open up a 57-27 advantage.

“(Josh) really loves basketball, has really good footwork, he works really hard and I think he’s still a little deceptive,” Weinfurter said. “I think (opponents) kind of take him for granted. Matt kind of carried us in the first half and I thought Josh did a great job in the fourth quarter.”

Columbus has an entire new starting five this season and is still growing and learning how to play together. Coach Joe Konieczny said he was disappointed in the performance on Tuesday and hopes the Dons can learn from the loss.

“I think we were looking to show our kids what a team that is disciplined and mentally tough is, and that what Auburndale is,” Konieczny said. “They have kids that play roles and do the little things that it takes to win, and we’re trying to build to get to that point.

“I know that we’re young, but it’s frustrating that maybe we’re not committing to those little things more. We let our shooting performance affect how we play in all aspects. If we’re knocking down shots, we’re positive and play hard in every area. If we don’t knock down shots, it translates to the defensive end and that needs to stop.”

Auburndale plays at Stratford in its Marawood Conference South Division opener next Tuesday, while Columbus returns to action Thursday at home against Gilman.

(Hub City Times Sports Reporter Paul Lecker is also the publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com.)

Apaches 62, Dons 36

Columbus Catholic 8 6 9 13 – 36
Auburndale 14 16 6 26 – 62
COLUMBUS CATHOLIC (36): Billy Young 0-3 0-0 0, Matthias Gouin 1-1 0-0 3, Tyler Fuerlinger 0-0 0-0 0, Christian Payant 0-1 0-1 0, Ben Behling 1-4 0-0 2, Evan Hansen 2-3 0-0 4, Ryan Dieringer 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Nikolai 6-9 3-4 17, Hunter Schultz 2-8 3-4 8, Brett Loveland 1-7 0-0 2. FG: 13-36. FT: 6-9. 3-pointers: 4-15 (Nikolai 2-4, Schultz 1-4, Gouin 1-1, Young 0-3, Loveland 0-2, Behling 0-1). Rebounds: 18 (Nikolai 5). Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: none. Record: 2-3.
AUBURNDALE (62): Jake Lewis 1-1 2-2 5, Matt Nikolay 5-12 1-4 15, Caleb Weinfurter 0-1 0-0 0, Collin Hawkins 0-1 0-0 0, Bryan Gehrke 1-2 0-0 2, Luke Olsen 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper Krings 1-2 0-0 2, Tyler Weber 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Marth 4-10 3-5 11, Matt Lang 2-3 0-0 4, Dylan Peplinski 1-2 0-0 2, Christian Firnstahl 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Josh VanSchoick 9-13 3-5 21. FG: 24-49. FT: 9-16. 3-pointers: 5-13 (Nikolay 4-7, Lewis 1-1, Weinfurter 0-1, Hawkins 0-1, Gehrke 0-1, Olsen 0-1, Krings 0-1). Rebounds: 29 (VanShoick 9). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 1-0.