RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL - Redmen beat Loggers, take mid-season command of North

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

The Rib Lake boys basketball team will reach the midpoint of their Marawood Conference season in first place in the North Division and, after Tuesday’s 68-50 win at Phillips, the North title is looking like it’s theirs to take in the second half.

A fired-up Phillips team came out hot and took a quick 9-2 lead, but Rib Lake worked its way back fairly quickly, taking the lead midway through the first half and never relenting form there.

The win puts Rib Lake at 5-2 in Marawood games and 9-2 overall. The Redmen hold a game and a half lead over the 3-3 Loggers and a full two-game lead over third-place Prentice (3-4) heading into Friday’s contest at last-place Chequamegon that will end the first half of league play.

The key to success Tuesday was quite simple. The Redmen were in attack mode throughout on offense and their constant movement, solid passing and aggressiveness in attacking driving lanes when they opened up was too much for the Loggers’ defense.

Rib Lake made four 3-point shots in the win, but their relentless approach in getting to the rim led to 61% shooting on twopoint shots (23 of 41) and 56% shooting from the field overall (28 of 50). The Redmen put three players in double figures, led by Dominic Quednow’s 19 points and Jackson Blomberg’s 14. Seth Borchardt had an impact scoring 12 points and tying his season-high.

The Loggers got eight early points, including two 3s, from Brayden Revak and two scores from Collin Kleinschmidt while taking their leads of 9-2 and 14-6 before a three-point play by Talon Scheithauer seemed to get Rib Lake’s offense locked in.

Borchardt’s hard drive resulted in a three-point play that put the Redmen in the lead for the first time at 17-16 with 9:32 to go in the half. Blomberg’s 3 made it 2219, but it was answered by JJ Heikkinen’s triple that tied the game one last time.

A perfect pick and roll with Borchardt gave Jed Henderson the tie-breaking basket and Quednow scored twice for a 28-22 Rib Lake lead. Shay Denzine scored for Phillips out of a timeout, but Henderson scored again inside, Borchardt hit a midrange shot and Blomberg got to the rim twice, first going end-to-end after intercepting an intended save by the Loggers along the baseline and then splitting two defenders on a drive right down the lane, as Rib Lake opened up a 39-28 halftime lead.

Quednow scored on an inbound play and hit a 3 and Blomberg sank two free throws to open up a 46-30 lead. Phillips scored the next six to get within 10, but Borchardt’s triple from the top of the key and his score off Blomberg’s push up the floor and assist quieted that run. Consecutive buckets by Borchardt, Donovan Sutherland and Quednow delivered the knockout punch at 59-40.

Scheithauer scored seven points for the Redmen, Sutherland and Henderson had six apiece and Andrew Wudi scored four early on.

Four Redmen –– Borchardt, Sutherland, Quednow and Wudi –– had three assists each. Blomberg led the team with four steals and nine rebounds. Quednow had eight boards.

The Loggers got double-digit scoring from their top guns, including 14 from Drew Hauschild, 12 from Revak and 11 from Heikkinen, but that wasn’t enough to keep up with Rib Lake’s offensive depth and balance.

After Friday’s trip to Chequamegon, Rib Lake is at Colby for a non-conference game Monday and then hosts Auburndale in a Marawood crossover Jan. 18.

Redmen 55, Royals 48

It was a grind, but Rib Lake finally put a Marawood Conference crossover game into the win column Friday, outlasting host Wisconsin Rapids Assumption 55-48.

Rib Lake took the lead for good on a Scheithauer 3-pointer with 5:30 left in the first half. That shot made it 17-16 at the time. The Redmen widened their lead to 25-18 at halftime and led by as many as 13 in the second half.

Assumption never quit and made a couple of short runs to stay within striking distance, but Rib Lake never crumbled.

With the win, Rib Lake ended the program’s 21-game losing streak to Marawood South opponents that dated back nearly four years. Rib Lake’s last crossover win prior to Friday was a 66-55 win at Newman Catholic on Feb. 7, 2020.

The game became a grind as the teams combined for 32 free throws attempted in the second half alone. For the game, Rib Lake hit 19 of 30 while the Royals were 16 of 22. The Redmen only made two 3-point shots in 13 attempts, so their best work from the field came inside where Quednow had another big outing. He posted an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double, aided by 12-of-16 shooting from the free throw line.

Scheithauer made six of eight free throws while scoring 14 points.

Rib Lake was just a little bit better from the field, making 17 of 49 shots overall (34.7%), while the Royals were 14 of 48 (29.2%), including four of 18 from long range while slipping to 2-4 in the Marawood and 4-7 overall at the time.

An Owen Hagan 3-pointer cut what had been a 10-point Rib Lake lead to 34-29 with 11:15 left in the game and two Chase Leberg free throws made it 36-33.

But Quednow’s drive to the rim started a run that put Rib Lake back in control. Henderson scored in the post, Quednow and Scheithauer each sank two free throws and Quednow got fouled after a backcourt turnover by the Royals and made the free throws for a 46-33 lead with 4:34 to go.

Rib Lake needed just one more field goal from there, getting a short jumper from Blomberg off a Borchardt assist to make it 50-42 with as the game slid under the two-minute mark. That stopped a 7-0 run that had given the Royals some hope as they made it a two-score game at 48-42.

Blomberg had a quiet game offensively with six points, but he had six rebounds and three assists. Wudi asserted himself offensively with eight points, plus he had six rebounds and four assists. Henderson and Sutherland scored four points each. Sutherland had five boards. Michael Butler added a first-half free throw.

JT Schlaefer led Assumption with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Jack Weidmeyer added 12 points and four rebounds.

Both teams had 33 rebounds. The Royals turned the ball over 17 times while Rib Lake had 15 turnovers.