Tigers (15-8) move on to regional final at Neenah (15-8) on Saturday

By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

MARSHFIELD — Marshfield came into its WIAA Division 1 boys basketball regional semifinal against Hudson knowing the Raiders liked to play at a fast pace.

The Tigers and coach Scott Scheuer decided they would run with them and play the up-tempo game that they like to as well, and it worked.

Marshfield made 10 3-pointers and shot 57 percent overall to knock off Hudson 91-80 on Friday night at Marshfield High School.

The Tigers (15-8), winners of 13 of their last 15 games, move on to a regional final at Neenah (15-8) on Saturday. Tip off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on WDLB-AM 1450 and wdlbwosq.com. Neenah edged Appleton East 56-52 in overtime in a regional semifinal Friday.

Alec Hinson made 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range, including three in a row over the first four minutes of the second half, and finished with a game-high 22 points to pace Marshfield.

Marshfield’s Ethan Posteluk rises for a jump shot during the Tigers’ win over Hudson in a WIAA Division 1 boys basketball regional semifinal on Friday at Marshfield High School.

Four other Tigers also hit for double figures. Ethan Posteluk scored 16, Reed Miller made 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 15 points, Seth Anderson added 12, and Grant Michaelis had 11 in the win.

“We had 11 days to watch film on them and had to decide how to play them,” Scheuer said. “Do we want to run with them? Do we want to press them? I thought, ‘If I don’t, it really doesn’t show my guys I believe in what we’re doing.’ We put the ball in the basket, and (when) we do that, it makes the coach look really smart.

“They are coming in the 12-seed with all the pressure on the 5-seed (Marshfield) playing at home. Hudson never quit and kept battling, and I’m happy with the way our guys battled too, and we’re happy to be moving on.”

Hudson (10-13) saw its final lead of the game come at 8-6 with 13:52 remaining in the first half.

Marshfield turned that around with a 15-2 run, sparked by a Miller 3-pointer. Five different players scored in the run to put the Tigers up 21-10.

Hudson whittled the lead down to two at 32-30 after a 3-pointer and a rebound and basket by Jacob Daulton. Then the Tigers pushed their advantage back to 47-38 at halftime after a buzzer-beating jumper by freshman Isaac Meverden.

Hinson scored Marshfield’s first 13 points of the second half as it built a 60-42 lead.

The Raiders had one more run in them, cutting the lead to nine on two occasions and eventually to six at 84-78 after a 3-pointer from Keyser Helterbrand with one minute to go, but Marshfield was able to close out the win as Posteluk converted a three-point play, and Miller hit a pair of free throws in the final 20 seconds.

“We were looking for contact that wasn’t called,” Scheuer said. “You have to adjust when they aren’t calling contact. Sometimes you are looking for fouls and not finishing it. You just have to finish and not assume you are going to get fouled. I’m just happy with the way they responded and finished it out.”

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

Tigers 91, Raiders 80

Hudson 38 42 – 80

Marshfield 47 44 – 91

HUDSON (80): Matthew Barnard 2-10 3-4 7, Garrett Hendricks 7-16 2-4 16, Mitch Monson 4-5 0-0 9, Thomas Newell 1-3 0-0 2, Jamie Wirth 5-13 2-2 15, Alex Kela 0-0 0-0 0, Keyser Helterbrand 8-17 1-4 18, Peyton Reece 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Daulton 5-11 1-4 13. FG: 32-75. FT: 9-18. 3-pointers: 7-18 (Wirth 3-8, Daulton 2-3, Monson 1-1, Helterbrand 1-4, Hendricks 0-2). Rebounds: 36 (Helterbrand 10). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: Barnard. Record: 10-13.

MARSHFIELD (91): Ethan Posteluk 6-14 3-5 16, Brant Bohman 3-4 0-0 7, Seth Anderson 6-7 0-0 12, Reed Miller 3-8 7-8 15, Alec Hinson 7-9 3-4 22, Grant Michaelis 4-7 2-4 11, Nathan McGrath 0-1 0-0 0, Isaac Meverden 1-1 0-0 2, Adam Hauge 1-3 0-0 2, John Reigel 0-0 0-0 0, Nick Stewart 2-4 0-0 4. FG: 33-58. FT: 15-21. 3-pointers: 10-19 (Hinson 5-6, Miller 2-5, Michaelis 1-1, Bohman 1-2, Posteluk 1-3, McGrath 0-1, Hauge 0-1). Rebounds: 32 (Anderson 7). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 15-8.