MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL - Big runs early put Raiders in deep holes in losses
MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL
For the second straight road game, a big first-half run Tuesday took the Medford Raiders out of contention much earlier than they had hoped.
This time, it was a 34-4 blitz by the D.C. Everest Evergreens that opened the floodgates, turning an 8-7 deficit into a 4112 lead in what wound up being an 83-47 runaway in the non-conference matchup.
While the Raiders continue to search for their shooting rhythm, D.C. Everest got quite comfortable knocking down six 3-pointers in the first half, four by its leading scorer, junior guard Cohen Priebe, who had 16 points in the half and finished with 25 after drilling three more triples after halftime.
With eight second-half 3s, Everest finished with 14 triples on 27 attempts while improving to 3-3 overall. The Evergreens shot 58.5% from the field overall (31 of 53).
Medford remained winless at 0-5 with just four players finding the scoring column.
Down 43-19 at halftime, Tanner Hraby had 16 of the 19 points. Nick Steliga hit a 3-pointer that gave Medford its 8-7 lead and the Raiders had led 5-2 very early.
Everest’s big run started just over five minutes into the game on a Xavier Edwards basket. Casey Stuedemann, a 6-4 junior, got a three-point play that was followed by two Priebe 3s. A Medford turnover led to a rebound bucket for Colin Ebersold. After Hraby sank two free throws to make it 20-10, Edwards got a three-point play, Cade Felch scored and Edwards fed Stuedemann for a layup. Priebe sandwiched two more 3s around a Hraby score in the post, Jake Ruether got a three-point play and Felch nailed a 3-ball and the rout was on.
The good news for Medford’s offense was its senior big men found a groove in the second half. Brayden Balciar hit two 3s out of the break and finished with eight points. Owen Stockwell also hit two 3s, the second of which made it a 53-33 game, and he scored 10 in the half.
But Everest went on another 30-10 blitz after Stockwell’s second 3 to go up 83-43 to put the running clock in motion for the final three minutes.
Hraby finished with 24 points and Steliga had five. Everest also put Felch and Ebersold in double digits with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Felch finished with four 3s.
Hraby led Medford with five rebounds. He, Carson Carbaugh and Conner Klingbeil had two assists each. Stockwell had four rebounds. Steliga had two steals and Hayden Koester blocked two shots. Medford made 15 of 50 shots from the field (30%) and outrebounded 39-16. The Raiders only turned the ball over six times and got 10 from the Evergreens.
Medford gets a week off before taking another shot at win number one Tuesday when it hosts Antigo in Great Northern Conference play at 7:15 p.m. The Raiders will host New Richmond Dec. 21.
Mosinee 85, Medford 49
For about seven minutes Friday, the Raiders were right with GNC title contender Mosinee and then it all unraveled over the next 11 minutes in an 85-49 blowout win for the host Indians.
An overwhelming 33-4 burst turned a good 9-8 game into a 42-12 rout at halftime as the Raiders were again done in by shooting woes and some key offensive rebounds and second-chance points by the opposition. The Indians also simply got hot, making 53% of their first-half shots from the field and four 3-pointers during the run that broke it open.
“A lot of times teams can play with other teams, but it’s those runs that beat you,” Medford head coach Ryan Brown said. “I thought we came out executing our game plan the way we wanted to, being patient on offense. I thought we got a lot of good shots early. They just didn’t fall. Then I think what we did is we basically pressed a little bit. They took a little bit of a lead. I think it was somewhere around 16-8 and then I felt like the quality of our shots went down, we tried to force some things and that just plays into the hands of a team like that. They get out in transition and start to feel comfortable in their shooting.”
Charlie Gierl set the tone for Medford’s early tenacity, scoring four points on a rebound and drive and then a basket off a steal to make it 7-6. Stockwell got an offensive putback to answer one by Mosinee’s 6-5 senior Landen Thomer to keep the deficit at one.
But then Thomer got another putback, Gierl picked up his second foul at the 10:41 mark and things went downhill quickly.
Aidan Shaughnessy came off Mosinee’s bench to score five points, including a baseline drive and then a steal and score to make it 18-8. Hraby scored for the Raiders, then Garrett Shupe hit three 3s and Cole Kowalski added one in a 16-point burst that suddenly made it 3410. Adding injury to insult, Gierl left the game with 30.9 seconds left after taking an accidental hit to the head, finishing with four points, three rebounds and two steals.
Medford made just six of 31 field goal attempts (19.4%) in the half and missed all 18 of its 3-point tries.
“It’s not like they’re bad shots,” Brown said. “It’s one thing if we’re shooting tough, contested shots. Sometimes they are. But there are plenty of shots that we’re getting that are open, in range and in rhythm like you want. Especially early in the game, I thought we got a lot of good looks and a lot of offensive rebounds where we got another good look. We just need to be able shoot those with confidence.”
The Raiders didn’t quit and played a much better second half, though the deficit never got under 30. They shot 44.4% in the half (16 of 36) and got five 3s to fall. Medford did miss all eight of its free throws in the game, another sign of its shooting struggles in the first four games.
Hraby finished with 22 points to lead Medford. Klingbeil hit a couple of 3s and finished with eight points, four rebounds and three assists. Logan Gubser scored five second-half points, Stockwell and Carson Carbaugh scored four points apiece and Koester added a hoop. Steliga led Medford with eight rebounds.
Mosinee got 19 points and 19 rebounds from Thomer in its GNC opener. Kowalski had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Keagen Jirschele had 14 points, five steals and three assists.
