By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD — A third of the way through the 2015-16 season, the Marshfield boys basketball team is seeking one thing: consistency.

The up-and-down season for the Tigers has resulted in a 3-4 start heading into nonconference games to be played at Superior against Menomonie and Chippewa Falls on Dec. 29-30 as part of the annual Big Rivers-Wisconsin Valley Conference Challenge.

Marshfield is coming off a week where it topped the 70-point plateau for the third time with a 74-69 win over Mosinee on Dec. 15, but the Tigers followed that up by shooting just 30 percent (17 of 57) and fell to Wisconsin Rapids 61-51 on Dec. 18 to fall to 0-2 in the Wisconsin Valley Conference.

Marshfield’s Alec Hinson drives to the hoop during the Tigers’ loss to Wisconsin Rapids on Dec. 18 at Marshfield High School.

“I thought we made a big step against SPASH (in a loss on Dec. 11), and I thought we took a step back tonight,” first-year coach Scott Scheuer said following Marshfield’s loss to Rapids. “I think when you have a team that doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience, you’re going to go up and down. Consistency is what we’re striving for.”

With only two players, forward Adam Fravert and guard Alec Hinson, that played major minutes on the varsity last season, the Tigers are still trying to mesh and find consistent intensity on court. Senior Tyson Slade played as a reserve on and off last season, but other than those three, the Tigers are essentially sporting a new roster mixed with seven seniors and five juniors.

Fravert is averaging 15.6 points and Slade 10.9 points per game, and juniors Hinson, Grant Michaelis, Ethan Voss, and Ethan Posteluk are all between 7 and 9 points per contest.

Marshfield put up 31 3-point shots in the loss to Rapids, making eight. Scheuer hopes his team can get out of the habit of settling for the outside shot.

“I think we are where I kind of thought we’d be,” Scheuer said. “We’re getting experience, but we know it’s going to be a grind. We are not going to blow teams out, and it’s going to be back and forth. If we live by that 3-point line, we’re going to die by it a lot.”

Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com, a contributor to Hub City Times Sports. You can reach him by email at paul@marshfieldareasports.com.