MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL - Raiders punish Ripon at the free throw line, fall to the Chiefs

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

The Medford Raiders got double-figure scoring from four players, key shots from several sources and did some bigtime work at the free throw line while earning a 70-60 win Thursday afternoon to close out their two-day stay in Wisconsin Dells.

Medford outscored the Tigers by 16 on free throws alone, making 21 of 32, plus the Raiders were a solid 45% from the 3-point line (nine of 20), allowing them to pull ahead early and stay ahead and earn their second win of the season.

Medford (2-7) led by as many as 16 points in the second half before Ripon (4-6) made a run and got within six with 2:15 left. But the Raiders were eight of 12 from the free throw line from there to close things out.

The Raiders only trailed once at 8-5, turning things around with a 14-0 run that put them up by 11 midway through the first half. Hayden Koester started off his best game of the still-young season with a 3-pointer, Tanner Hraby scored a basket and added a 3-pointer, Nick Steliga knocked down a 3 and Koester hit another as well off a Brayden Balciar kickout in that run.

Conner Klingbeil dropped two 3s for a 25-16 lead and, after Ripon closed within 25-23, Hraby’s putback turned into a three-point play and added another score, while Klingbeil sank his third 3 of the half, this one off an Owen Stockwell kickout, for a 33-27 lead. The Tigers crept within 35-31 with just over two minutes left, but Hraby’s basket and a Klingbeil steal and score with 18 seconds left put the Raiders up 39-31.

After Medford’s 105-80 loss to New Richmond on Dec. 21, head coach Ryan Brown talked about the need for the Raiders to possibly start thinking going outside their defensive box and they did that at the start of this game, employing a triangle-and-two defense aimed at stopping the Tigers’ top two offensive threats, Henry Beuthin, a 6-4 senior forward, and Mason Killam, a 5-9 senior guard. While they didn’t use that defense through the entire half, it was effective as those two players ended the half with just two points each. Beuthin got his on an offensive rebound and Killam got his on free throws.

Medford shot 50% from the field in the first half, 15 of 30 overall and seven of 14 on 3-pointers. Just two of Medford’s free throw attempts came in the first half. Both came on three-point plays by Hraby, who led all scorers with 26 points, plus he had eight rebounds and four assists.

Medford remained sharp offensively to start the second half, getting an early 3 from Hraby, plus his basket off a steal. Koester assisted Steliga on a cut through the middle and Koester aggressively got to the rim as well for a score that put Medford up 48-35. Koester’s trail 3 in transition at the 12:15 mark bumped the lead to 55-40 and Hraby hit one of two free throws 29 seconds later for Medford’s biggest lead of the afternoon.

Amazingly, Koester’s 3 was Medford’s last field goal of the game. The Raiders’ 15 free throws in the last 12 minutes, however, enabled them to withstand the Tigers’ last-ditch run, which included a pair of 3s from Killam and five points from Beuthin that made it 61-54. Jacob Riddick’s triple after the Tigers kept the possession alive with several offensive rebounds cut Medford’s lead to 62-56. Steliga made one of two free throws at the 2:02 mark. After Riddick missed inside, Klingbeil hit two free throws to get the lead back to nine with 1:39 left. Koester’s blocked shot on Beuthin, followed by a Klingbeil free throw with 1:13 left, made it a four-possession game and sealed the deal.

Klingbeil’s three 3-pointers and five-ofseven shooting at the foul line contributed to his 16-point outing. He added three rebounds. Koester sank all three of his 3-point attempts while scoring 11 points. He had seven assists, three boards and three blocked shots. Steliga was four of seven from the field and scored 10 points.

Stockwell was six for six from the line, 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.

Owen Stockwell