Wildcats are alone in first place

Edgar gets help from Marathon

The Edgar varsity boys basketball team won its eighth straight game after beating Stratford, 51-37, on Monday at home.

Edgar now has a 13-2 overall record. Edgar is ranked eighth in this week’s wissports.net Division 4 coaches poll, while Marawood South Conference foe Auburndale, 12-3, is ranked 10th.

The Wildcats are now in sole possession of first place in the Marawood South Conference, following the Auburndale Eagles’ 59-51 home loss to Marathon on Tuesday. Edgar has a 9-1 record in the Marawood South Conference, while Auburndale is 8-2. Auburndale handed Edgar its lone conference defeat this season, 64-60, on Dec. 18. The Wildcats will have an opportunity to even their regular-season series against the Eagles this Tuesday, Feb. 2, at home. Both of Auburndale’s conference losses have come against Marathon this season.

Edgar won back-to-back Marawood North Conference championships in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons before joining the Marawood South in the 2017-18 season.

The Wildcats held a slim 17-14 halftime advantage against the Stratford Tigers on Monday at home, but Edgar dominated Stratford in the second half to gain the 51-37 victory. Edgar was led by a trio of senior players, including Brayden Baumgartner and Drew Guden who each scored 12 points. Konnor Wolf added 11 points.

Edgar’s defense held Stratford to only 34 percent on 12 of 35 shooting from the floor. Junior Camden Daul led Stratford with 15 points and senior Cody Miller chipped in 13. Junior Devin Ulrich paced the Tigers with eight rebounds. Junior Cade Bruesewitz led Stratford with three assists, while senior Max Vanderhoof and junior Jacob Skroch added two assists each.

The Wildcats honored their nine senior players during Friday’s 77-46 home win against the Abbotsford Falcons. The following seniors received recognition for their contributions to the Edgar High School boys basketball program during the last four years: Drew Guden, Austin Dahlke, Konnor Wolf, Cole Schilling, Nate Drabek, Brandon Schoenrock, Kyle Brewster, Max Larson and Brayden Baumgartner.

Edgar scored 25 points off 18 Abbotsford turnovers to gain the win. The Wildcats dominated the Falcons both on the glass with a 21 to 4 advantage in offensive rebounds and with a sizable 42 to 10 advantage in points scored in the paint. Wolf led the Wildcats with six offensive rebounds, followed by Brayden Baumgartner with five and Max Larson with three. Baumgartner paced the team with eight total rebounds and Larson had six.

Guden led Edgar with 19 points and four steals against Abbotsford. Kyle Brewster contributed 13 points while Austin Dahlke had 10 and Brayden Baumgartner eight. Wolf paced the team with 12 assists.

Edgar also easily beat Wittenberg-Birnamwood, 66-42, in a non-conference game on Thursday. The Wildcats scored 15 points off 19 Chargers’ turnovers. Brewster led Edgar with 18 points and Drew Guden added 15. Austin Dahlke had a solid overall statistical game with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Tigers tame the Cards

Stratford’s boys basketball team rebounded from the loss to Edgar by upending Wausau Newman, 56-49, on Tuesday in Wausau.

The Tigers held a 29-20 lead at halftime agianst the Cardinals. Senior Cody Miller poured in a team high 14 points, while juniors Cade Bruesewitz and Camden Daul chipped in 12 points each. Junior Jacob Skroch added 11 points in the win.

Daul and Miller paced the Tigers with six rebounds apiece, while Bruesewitz and Skroch led the squad with four assists each. Miller had three assists.

Stratford improves its record to 4-5 in the Marawood South Conference and 8-5 overall this season.