Redmen extend win streak to four to start the season
RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL
For the second straight year, Rib Lake and Edgar waged a relatively low-scoring down to the wire battle on Friday and for the second straight year, the Redmen came out on top, this time by a score of 53-51.
The Redmen got huge games out of seniors Steven Petkau and Nick Gerstberger in the win. Petkau hit five of 10 shots and all four of his free throws while scoring 16 points and he pulled down 13 rebounds, including 12 on the defensive end to record a double-double. Gerstberger had 17 points and 10 boards to get a double-double of his own.
Gerstberger’s 13 first-half points helped Rib Lake grab a 29-21, while Petkau also had eight points, including his two 3-point makes in the game.
But Edgar got hot from 3-point range in the second half and made it extremely tight down the stretch. Austin Dahlke hit a trio of 3s and scored 10 points in the half, Kyle Brewster hit two long-range shots and scored 10 points in the half as well. Caden Higgins added six points, including a trey. Edgar missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer from the corner as time expired.
The Wildcats held Rib Lake’s leading scorer, Levi Ewan, without a field goal in the entire game, but he hit five of six second-half free throws and seven of eight overall. Devyn Vlach hit a 3-pointer in the half and was two for two from the line. Petkau hit all four of his free throws in the second half.
Vlach finished with 11 points, hitting three of seven 3-point shots. Ryan Patrick added a bucket and four rebounds.
Dahlke’s 13 points led Edgar, who was playing its first game of the season. Brewster finished with 12.
Rib Lake got 17 of its points off 10 Edgar turnovers, but the Wildcats cashed in on their 12 offensive rebounds with 12 second-chance points. Both teams struggled a bit from 3-point range as the Redmen were seven of 21 and the Wildcats were eight of 25. Overall, Rib Lake shot 40% from the field (14 of 35) but its 18-of-24 effort at the foul line was huge. Edgar was seven of 13.
Rib Lake won last year’s game 49-45.
Rib Lake improved to 4-0 overall on Tuesday with a 64-39 non-conference win at Tomahawk. Details were not available at press time.
The Redmen close the pre-holiday portion of their schedule with a tough Marawood Conference stretch of games that includes Friday night at Prentice, Tuesday night at home against Phillips and Dec. 20 at home against Marathon. All three games tip at 7:15 p.m.
