RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL - Win at Abby keeps Redmen in early North lead

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

Jed Henderson recorded a monster 17point, 18-rebound double-double, leading three Redmen in double-figure scoring as Rib Lake’s boys basketball reached the Christmas break in the Marawood North lead following a 70-62 win at Abbotsford Friday night.

Rib Lake’s offense clicked through most of the contest. The Redmen jumped ahead 11-0 right off the bat, Abbotsford pulled within four and then Rib Lake took off again, leading by 14 at the half and by as much as 30 in the second half before the Falcons took advantage of Rib Lake’s reserves to close the gap late and make the final score look closer than the game actually was.

The win puts Rib Lake at 4-0 in Marawood Conference play, good for a one-game lead over 3-1 Phillips, one quarter of the way through the Marawood season. The Redmen are 4-2 overall.

In the first half, the Redmen succeeded in getting good looks inside, but made only nine of 25 two-point shots. But they were cooking from the outside, making six of 13 3-point shots to build their 41-27 halftime lead.

Blake Henderson and Talon Scheithauer hit the first two 3s for a quick 6-0 lead and Slade Scheithauer, getting the start for an absent Ethan Cook, hit hit first 3-point try as well for the 11-0 lead. It was 16-4 after Jackson Schutt scored off an inbound pass and got a three-point play out of it. Abbotsford then made its best run of the night, getting 3s from Payton Schreiber, AJ Brodhagen and Koren Decker in a 13-4 surge that got the Falcons (1-3, 3-3) within 21-17 at the nineminute mark of the first half.

Jed Henderson scored consecutive baskets, Slade Scheithauer hit one of two free throws and Blake Henderson drilled a 3-ball and then two free throws after a steal to get Rib Lake rolling again. Jed Henderson rebounded a Slade Scheithauer miss and then got the ball right back to a cutting Scheithauer to make it 35-21 with 3:31 to go in the half. Schutt hit a 3-ball on his way to a seasonhigh eight points and Talon Scheithauer knocked down a triple with three seconds left.

Junior guard Seth Borchardt took over to start the second half, scoring nine of his 13 points in a 15-2 run to start the half that opened up a 56-29 lead. The lead hit 61-31 following two Talon Scheithauer free throws with 9:58 left. While Abbotsford started to chip away, senior Brady Heiser scored four of his season-high six points to help make sure the Falcons didn’t get too close in the game’s late stages.

Talon Scheithauer finished with 12 points, Blake Henderson scored six and Slade Scheithauer finished with a seasonhigh six. Blake Henderson added seven rebounds as the Redmen held a 48-37 overall advantage on the boards. Rib Lake turned 17 offensive rebounds into 20 second-chance points.

Slade Scheithauer, Borchardt and Blake Henderson had five assists apiece, while Talon Scheithauer and Jed Henderson had three each. Jed Henderson led the team with four steals.

Brodhagen led the Falcons with 17 points, while Irvin Aguilera added 10.

Rib Lake is off until Friday, Jan. 3 when it hosts Gilman in non-conference play at 7:15 p.m.