RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL - Redmen start week with back-to-back wins, fall to Eagles

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

Jackson Blomberg sank four first-half 3-pointers, added one in the second half and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Rib Lake Redmen to a workmanlike 56-31 win over visiting Athens Tuesday night.

The Blue Jays were patient offensively and attempted to slow the game down and they succeeded in keeping the game close in the first half. Playing their fourth game in six days, the Redmen were able to push the pace enough to get out to a 29-20 halftime lead.

After starting the second half with a 7-2 spurt, the Redmen led by double digits the rest of the way to complete a Marawood North regular-season sweep over a program it hadn’t beaten since the 2019-20 season.

The Redmen, now 12-4 overall, remain entrenched atop the North Division with a 6-3 Marawood record, 1.5 games ahead of 5-5 Prentice. Athens fell to 2-7, 5-9.

Blomberg hit a 3 to open the scoring, but that was answered by treys from Athens’ Riley Schultz-Becker and Daxton Diethelm. Athens led 8-7 when Blomberg dropped in two 3s to put Rib Lake ahead for good. His fourth triple of the half made it 19-13 and that was followed by a Talon Scheithauer steal and three-point play. Donovan Sutherland scored five points at the end of the half, getting a backcourt steal and score with 22 seconds left and getting a reverse layup to fall at the buzzer off a quick pass from Andrew Wudi.

Blomberg went inside to score twice to start the second half and Scheithauer hit a 3-pointer to open up a 36-22 lead. From there, Rib Lake’s defense shut down the Jays, holding them scoreless over the last seven minutes.

Sutherland scored 11 points in the win. Dominic Quednow and Scheithauer scored eight apiece, Seth Borchardt chipped in with four points, Wudi had an early bucket and Jed Henderson added a free throw.

Rib Lake shot 44.7% from the field (21 of 47) compared to 31% (13 of 42) for Athens. Rib Lake made eight of 16 free throws, while Athens missed all six of its foul shots. The Redmen outrebounded Athens 33-26 and forced 14 turnovers while committing nine.

Quednow had six rebounds while Sutherland and Blomberg had five each. Quednow also led the team with three assists and three steals.

Schultz-Becker led Athens with 19 points, but only three of his teammates scored making it tough for the underdogs to keep up.

Rib Lake heads to Tomahawk Friday for a non-conference game with the 1-13 Hatchets. A Tuesday trip to North rival Abbotsford starts a heavy dose of Marawood play that fills the rest of Rib Lake’s schedule.

Rib Lake 92, Spencer 53

On Monday, Rib Lake dismantled any defense the young Spencer Rockets tried to play, consistently getting the ball inside and adding its share of transition and rebound baskets as well in a 92-53 non-conference rout.

The Redmen shot 56.1% from the field overall (37 for 56), including 31 of 47 (66%) on two-point shots while putting this one away early and snapping a mini two-game losing streak.

Spencer led 2-0 for its only lead of the game. Rib Lake quickly shot ahead 14-4 while finding creases in Spencer’s 1-3-1 zone. For a brief time, the Rockets switched to man-to-man, but Dominic Quednow hit a 3, Jackson Blomberg scored twice, including once off a Quednow steal and Talon Scheithauer hit a triple to open up a 24-6 lead.

Spencer went back to some zone looks, but Rib Lake was rarely stopped for the rest of the half. The Rockets did pull within 37-24 with just under four minutes left, but Rib Lake closed the half with a 10-2 run that included four points apiece from Quednow and Donovan Sutherland.

Sutherland sparked a 10-0 run to open the second half that eliminated any doubt that might have been left with a threepoint play off an Andrew Wudi assist and a 3-pointer from the right corner where the Rockets –– and even his own teammate –– dared him to shoot it. Blomberg passed the ball backed to Sutherland multiple times looking for him to take the shot, which he finally did, and he buried it.

Sutherland was one of five Redmen in double figures with 14 points. He added six assists, four steals and four rebounds. Blomberg was the leading scorer with 16 points, four assists and four rebounds. Quednow had 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals from the middle of Rib Lake’s 1-3-1. Scheithauer continued his week-long emergence from a mid-season dry spell with 14 points, including two 3s, three rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jed Henderson had a career-high 13 points and pulled down five rebounds.

The second-half margin reached 39, allowing the Redmen to substitute freely and provide some valuable rest for the starters ahead of the Athens game. Fourteen players got into the game and 11 scored.

Wudi had seven points, eight assists and six rebounds. Michael Butler scored a season-high four points. Brady Heiser had a three-point play in the final minute and grabbed three rebounds. Xavier hit a jumper for his first field goal of the season, Jeremy Wiitala got his second varsity basket of the season and Chris Krause closed the scoring with an offensive putback for his first varsity points. Corey Fuchs had a steal and a couple of rebounds.

Spencer (4-10) got 19 points from Sam Bezlyk and 10 from freshman Weston Nieman.

Eagles 66, Redmen 57

Rib Lake’s hard work over the last 31 minutes couldn’t quite undo the damage the Auburndale Eagles did in the first five minutes in their 66-57 win Thursday in a crossover matchup between Marawood Conference contenders.

The Eagles jumped on the home team with a 16-2 game-opening burst where they got consecutive 3-pointers from big man Caden Weinfurter and another from Evan Scholl as well as solid inside work for their other seven points.

Rib Lake never quit and kept coming back every time Auburndale threatened to pull away. The Redmen eventually made it a one-possession game late. But a couple of 3-point tries came up short and the Eagles iced it by making seven of their eight free throws in the last 1:43.

Auburndale improved to 12-2 overall at the time and to 8-1 in the Marawood South, right behind division-leading Marathon.

Both teams put three scorers in double figures. Blomberg and Wudi scored 13 points apiece and Seth Borchardt added 12 for Rib Lake. Auburndale got 18 points from Scholl, 17 points and 11 rebounds from Kaden Anderson, including six key offensive boards, and 15 points from Weinfurter.

Rib Lake’s first charge, spurred by Wudi and Blomberg, got the Redmen within 2418 late in the first half, but the Eagles finished with an 11-4 spurt that included 3s by Scholl, Peyton Weinfurter and Blake Raab. Raab’s was a bit of a dagger, coming with one second left from the deep left corner.

Anderson scored in the post to start the second half to give Auburndale its biggest lead at 37-22, but Rib Lake quickly got back into it. Scheithauer hit a 3, Quednow hit four free throws in a 34-second span, Blomberg scored and Wudi nailed a triple to make it 39-34 with 13:26 to go. A Blomberg long ball got it to 41-37.

Auburndale’s strong ball movement, some pivotal rebounds and another 3 from Caden Weinfurter helped stretch the lead back to 12 at 57-45, but the Redmen then got some stops and came storming back.

It started with a three-point play on a driving score by Scheithauer with 5:01 to play. Borchardt drilled a 3 with 4:28 left and hit another with 2:38 to go to make it a 59-55 game. After an Eagle miss, Blomberg drove the right baseline and scored to get Rib Lake within two with 1:57 left. Raab hit one of two free throws to keep it a onescore game, but Blomberg’s 3-point try was just short, leading to two Anderson free throws with 1:10 left. Borchardt’s 3 also hit the front of the rim, leading to two Caden Weinfurter free throws with 40.4 seconds left, making it a three-possession game at 64-57. Scheithauer’s missed 3 and Scholl’s free throws put it away.

Auburndale’s offensive efficiency was key. The Eagles shot 46% from the field, including 16 of 32 on two-point shots. They hit seven of 18 3s and were 13 of 18 from the free throw line. They turned the ball over 11 times but also forced 16 by Rib Lake.

Auburndale had a slight 29-26 overall rebounding edge but turned 11 offensive rebounds into 10 second-chance points.

Rib Lake shot well from two-point range, making 13 of 25, and was great at the foul line, hitting 13 of 15. The Redmen were just six of 25 from long range. Blomberg led the Redmen with eight rebounds, plus he had four assists. Wudi had five assists and four boards. Quednow had six points and four boards, Scheithauer had nine points and Sutherland scored four.