Redmen ease past Royals in opener; Newman is next

WIAA DIV. 5 BOYS BASKETBALL

AND SAM WEBER

STAR NEWS REPORTER

The Rib Lake Redmen got double-digit scoring outputs from all four of their senior leaders and cruised to a 70-48 win over Wisconsin Rapids Assumption Tuesday in their WIAA Division 5 regional opener.

While it took the Redmen a little while to get things clicking offensively, they got off to a great start defensively, holding the 14th-seeded Royals to just two points in the game’s first nine minutes. That allowed Rib Lake to build a 13-2 lead halfway through the first half.

The third-seeded Redmen rapidly passed the ball around, taking shots from all directions in the first half, which ended with Rib Lake leading 28-16. The firsthalf points were evenly spread amongst the team. Levi Ewan and Devyn Vlach each scored a two-pointer and a 3-pointer and Nick Gerstberger had eight firsthalf points and made all four of his free throws. Logan Blomberg had a 3-pointer.

Assumption’s Dennis Matott did his part to keep the Royals (1-22) in it with a pair of 3s and eight first-half points.

Steven Petkau sparked Rib Lake’s 42-point second half with eight quick points during a 14-0 run that broke it open at 42-16. Pektau finished with a game-high 19 points, 15 of which were scored in the second half. The Redmen gradually extended the lead from there, securing their second win of the season over their Marawood South rivals.

Gerstberger added three more buckets to finish with 14 points. Ewan and Vlach both finished with 11. Ryan Patrick scored six points and Brock Thiede set a season-high with six points, all in the second half.

Matott led three Royals in double figures with 13 points. Reed Duellman scored 11, including a trio of 3s, and Ryan Shaw added 10, eight of which came in the second half.

The win sends the 19-4 Redmen to Friday’s regional semifinal round, where they will host 11th-seeded Newman Catholic at 7 p.m. The Cardinals (5-18) knocked out sixth-seeded Port Edwards (13-10) with a 62-50 mild upset in Tuesday’s first round.

Newman gave Rib Lake a battle in their Feb. 7 Marawood Conference crossover game, but the Redmen overcame early foul trouble and prevailed 66-55.

Friday’s winner will move on to Saturday’s regional final against either seventh- seeded Columbus Catholic (11-12) or second-seeded Wild Rose (17-6). The higher seed will host the 7 p.m. game.

The regional champion will play in a March 12 sectional semifinal at D.C. Everest.