RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL - Redmen bury Abbotsford, pulling away in the North title chase

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

The Rib Lake Redmen took care of business Tuesday, jumping ahead of visiting Abbotsford quickly and never really having to sweat from there in a 7051 victory.

Jed Henderson owned the low blocks early, scored eight of Rib Lake’s first 10 points and 12 of its first 16 on his way to a huge 27-point night. Talon Scheithauer got rolling early as well and added 20 points as the Redmen improved to 9-2 in Marawood Conference play and 12-5 overall.

With the win, Rib Lake widened its lead in the North Division to three games over 6-5 Phillips and Prentice. Phillips was upset by Athens Tuesday 59-57. With just five conference games left for all three teams, the Redmen are quickly closing in on a second straight North Division championship.

On Tuesday, Henderson’s early scoring spree helped put Rib Lake up 16-7 in the first six minutes. Talon Scheithauer’s first basket was a 3-pointer that made it 21-8 and Lucas Cook followed with an inside score for a 15-point lead. With the pace of the game fairly fast, the Redmen stayed on the offensive attack through the remainder of the first half, getting 12 points from Scheithauer and six more from Seth Borchardt to lead 40-24 at the half.

With Rib Lake leading 42-28, Henderson hit a straight-on 3-pointer and then followed up his missed 3 with a rebound basket to start a Rib Lake run that truly put the game away early in the second half. Slade Scheithauer’s 3-pointer got the lead to 5332 and the lead stayed right around the 20-point mark from there, getting as high as 70-44 with two Jeremy Wiitala free throws with 2:01 left.

Slade Scheithauer scored nine points for the Redmen and Borchardt finished with eight. Ethan Cook, Lucas Cook and Wiitala added two apiece.

Payton Schreiber led Abbotsford (2-9, 6-10) with 11 points, while Grayson Totzke and Irvin Aguilera-Lozoya had nine apiece.

Now winners of three straight games, the Redmen will now finish up their crossover games in the Marawood Conference while attempting to clinch the North title as soon as they can. They’ll host the last-place team in the South, Newman Catholic (2-9, 4-13) on Friday and travel to the South’s current second-place team, Stratford (9-2, 15-2) on Feb. 14. In between, the Colby Hornets will visit Rib Lake Monday for a good non-conference matchup. All upcoming games tip at 7:15 p.m.

Redmen 52, Jays 42

In a game where transition opportunities were rare, Rib Lake was able to break down the defense no matter what Three Lakes threw at it and earned a 52-42 home win Friday in non-conference play.

The Redmen had assists on 16 of their 20 field goals as they were able to find open cutting and passing lanes that beat the 2-3 zone Three Lakes first tried and went back to briefly in the second half, its man-to-man and also a 1-3-1 zone it played toward the end of the first half.

Jed Henderson did damage on the baseline in the first half, when he scored 10 of his game-high 14 points, plus he added three assists out of the high post. He and Blake Henderson led Rib Lake with seven rebounds apiece. Talon Scheithauer scored 12 points and Borchardt had six points, five rebounds and nine assists.

Three Lakes, who fell to 6-9 overall, jumped out to a 10-4 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from Eli Erickson. Rib Lake got back to even at 13-13 on a 3-pointer from Blake Henderson and took the lead at 1716 when Slade Scheithauer cut to the basket and scored off an assist from his brother. The Redmen never trailed again.

Borchardt assisted on a curl cut that Slade Scheithauer scored on, Slade Scheithauer fed the cutting Jed Henderson for a score and Borchardt drove the baseline and dished to Brady Heiser for the final hoop of the first half, giving Rib Lake a 29-23 lead.

Peyton Pitlik hit a 3-pointer and got to the rim for two on a quick move from the right side to bring the Blue Jays within 3635, but Rib Lake countered with a 10-2 run that put it back in command, where it stayed. Blake Henderson hit a key 3 and Lucas Cook recovered after getting his initial shot blocked and scored on his second try for a key basket with 5:25 left. Talon Scheithauer took advantage of a driving lane and scored to make it 46-37 with 3:15 left. He also had the final dagger, scoring off a Jed Henderson assist after Blake Henderson won a battle for a loose ball just beyond the top of the key with 1:45 left.

Slade Scheithauer finished with nine points, five rebounds and three assists. Blake Henderson had seven points, Cook and Heiser both finished with two points and five rebounds.

Pitlik led three Blue Jays in double figures with 13 points. Easton Lurvey scored 12 and Erickson had 11.