Borchardt, Blomberg score big in Abby win; Newman pulls away

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

The Rib Lake Redmen rained 3s on Abbotsford in the first half, then finished off the Falcons inside and at the free throw line in the second half Monday in a 69-58 road win that completed a sweep of the season series.

Sophomore guard Michael Borchardt went off 24 points, 19 of which came in a stunning first-half shooting display, and junior Logan Blomberg scored a careerhigh 20 points, which included six big free throws that helped seal things in the second half.

The win boosts Rib Lake’s record to 6-11 heading into the team’s regular-season finale tonight, Thursday, at Stratford at 7:15 p.m. Rib Lake is 4-10 in Marawood Conference games. Abbotsford (2-12, 4-16) lost despite 28 points and a couple of dunks from senior standout Cade Faber and 20 points from Hunter Soyk.

The first half was full of offensive fireworks. Soyk hit some early 3s to give Abbotsford a quick 9-6 lead, but Borchardt and Blomberg answered with 3s and Ryan Patrick chipped in with some inside offense to give the Redmen a 20-12 edge. The Falcons went on a 7-2 spurt, capped by a Faber slam, but Rib Lake came right back with a run that put them up 40-28 and, eventually, 42-32 at the half.

Borchardt, whose previous game high was 11 points, buried five 3-pointers in the half, while Blomberg added a pair, Andrew Wudi had one and Patrick did his usual damage inside with 10 points.

Soyk hit four first-half 3s as the two teams combined for 14 triples in the first 18 minutes.

The long-range shooting for both teams cooled in the second half, though Soyk hit a couple of treys for the Falcons. Faber kept them in the game with 12 second-half points. Rib Lake opened up a 51-39 lead, but Abbotsford chipped away and got within six a couple of times and then five twice at 59-54 with 6:40 to play and 61-56 with 3:39 left.

But Rib Lake took care of the ball down the stretch and made 11 of 19 free throws in the second half to salt it away.

Wudi scored seven points for the Redmen, while Tanner Vlach and Ryan Buehler scored four apiece. Patrick was shut out after scoring his 10 first-half points.

Defensively, Rib Lake shut out Abbotsford’s Brandon Diedrich, who had been averaging 17.5 points per game in a recent four-game tear, scoreless.

After tonight’s game in Stratford, Rib Lake will begin WIAA Division 5 postseason play on Friday, Feb. 19. The Redmen drew the third seed in their small five-team regional bracket and will play at second-seeded Prentice, where they won 67-57 on Jan. 26. Prentice won the teams’ first meeting 47-41 on Dec. 15.

Newman Catholic drew the regional’s top seed and will host either fifth-seeded Mercer or fourth-seeded Wisconsin Valley Lutheran in the semifinal round.

Newman 76, Rib Lake 51

On Friday, the Redmen slowly but surely cut an early 22-point deficit to 11 with plenty of time still remaining, but visiting Newman Catholic stung them with back-to-back 3-pointers in an 8-2 run that shifted the momentum back to the Cardinals and they pulled away for a 76-51 win.

The Cardinals, who improved to 12-6 overall and 8-5 in Marawood Conference games at the time, hit Rib Lake hard from the 3-point line, making 12 of 32 and outscoring the Redmen by 30 on 3. The Redmen were just two of 17 from long range.

Isaac Seidel led Newman with 22 points and made five of 11 3-pointers. Rib Lake got a 23-point, 13-rebound doubledouble from Patrick.

Patrick’s opening bucket gave Rib Lake its only lead at 2-0. Newman scored the next 13 points and extended to a 22-7 lead after 3s by Nick Brenner and Charlie McCarty. The Redmen got a 3-pointer from Vlach and a steal and score from Blomberg, but a 14-2 Newman run that included two triples from Conner Krach stretched the Cardinals’ lead to 36-14.

Newman cooled off and Rib Lake pulled within 41-27 at halftime. The lead was 50-31 when Rib Lake made some dents in it. Borchardt hit a floater in the lane, Sam Gumz tipped in a shot and Wudi hit a free throw to make it 50-36 with 12:04 left. After a McCarty bucket, Blomberg scored, Borchardt scored off a Wudi assist and Patrick made one of two free throws to make it a 52-41 game with 8:19 left.

But that’s when Krach and Seidel hit their back-to-back daggers and McCarty scored to counter bonus free throws by Patrick to make it 60-43. Wudi cut to the Redmen

basket and scored off a Vlach assist, but Newman steadily extended its lead from there as the Redmen went cold down the stretch.

Blomberg scored eight points for the Redmen, grabbed six rebounds and had three steals. Borchardt finished with seven points. Wudi and Vlach scored five apiece. Wudi had four rebounds and four assists. Vlach had five assists. Gumz had two points and two rebounds. Jordan Yanko made a late free throw and Buehler had three rebounds and an assist.

Krach had an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for Newman.

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