where he did all of ….
where he did all of his scoring, and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Carson Carbaugh added a second-half free throw. Balciar had six rebounds. Medford had a 36-32 edge in rebounding.
Killam wound up leading Ripon, despite his slow start, with 14 points. Beuthin was held to nine. Riddick stepped up for the Tigers with 12 points and Declan Dudzinski scored 10.
Medford gets back into Great Northern Conference play Friday when it visits Northland Pines for a 7:15 p.m. tip time. The Raiders will be at Tomahawk Tuesday before closing out the first round of league play Jan. 12 at home against Rhinelander.
Dells 58, Medford 47
Medford’s offense had been on an upswing in its previous two games, but it took a step back in the Raiders’ first game at the Dells on Dec. 27, a 58-47 loss to the host Chiefs.
As much as the 26.7% shooting from the field told a story, Medford’s 19 turnovers were probably more telling as the Chiefs turned those miscues into 15 points and they had 16 transition points to pull away from a one-point halftime lead.
Wisconsin Dells didn’t shoot well either in the first half, making just eight of 27 field goal attempts while eking out to a 20-19 lead. But the Chiefs found the range in the second half, going 14 for 21 (66.7%), while getting more inside looks while using their size advantage, highlighted by 6-4 junior guard Raphael Berje and 6-7 junior forward Jaren Ward.
Their length made for an effective 3-2 zone which the Chiefs fell back into out of their 1-2-2 halfcourt trap, which also created some key turnovers by the Raiders.
Ward led the Dells with 13 points, nine rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Berje had 10 points and five rebounds. Riley also hit double figures for the home team with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Most of the first half featured a onepossession margin for either team. The Chiefs were up 11-6 early, but the Raiders went on a 10-2 spurt to take a 16-13 lead thanks to a Logan Gubser steal and score, a Steliga block that turned into a Hraby bucket and Steliga’s 3-point hit off Stockwell kickout pass with 7:30 left in the half. Balciar’s bucket in the lane gave Medford an 18-17 lead with just over a minute left in the half.
White hit two 3s for Wisconsin Dells in the opening moments of the second half, but Hraby more than matched that with two 3s of his own in a personal eight-point spurt that got Medford into a 27-26 lead. Klingbeil’s tough shot in the lane gave Medford a 29-28 lead with 13:50 to go, but that was the Raiders’ last lead.
The Raiders made just one field goal in the next five minutes –– a Hraby 3 –– while the Chiefs got the ball inside, got some turnovers and got a 3 from Brady Young to open up a 43-32 lead.
The Raiders got the deficit down to six several times in the last six minutes with the last time being 52-46 on a tough baseline jumper by Hraby with 1:46 left. Wisconsin Dells answered with a Ward score in the lane, added a couple of free throws and ended the scoring with a two-handed dunk by Ward with 26 seconds left.
Hraby scored 19 points to lead Medford. He had five rebounds and two steals. Stockwell scored eight of his 11 points in the second half. He was seven for nine at the free throw line and had 11 rebounds for a double-double. Steliga had eight points and six rebounds. Balciar had five points and 10 rebounds. Klingbeil had four points and Gubser had two. Carbaugh and Koester each grabbed four rebounds.
Despite the size disadvantage, Medford outrebounded Wisconsin Dells 47-32. The Raiders had 21 offensive boards that led to 16 second-chance points and forced 18 turnovers by the Dells. The Raiders, though, made just four of 29 3-point shots.
