Raiders’ efficient offense quickly knocks out Altoona

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

On a night where it seemed Medford could do no wrong, the Altoona Railroaders were the unfortunate team getting run over in an 80-20 demolition at Raider Hall.

The Raiders burst out to a 58-9 halftime lead by making 22 of 37 shots from the field (59.5%), including 10 of 20 3-pointers. They wound up making 13 of 28 shots from long range and shooting 53.6% from the field overall (30 for 56).

Medford allowed just 16 shots from the field by the Railroaders in the half –– they made three –– and forced 14 turnovers. They also held Altoona without an offensive rebound in the half.

Obviously it was a tough night for 2002 Medford graduate and Athletic Hall of Famer Paul Henrichs, who returned to Raider Hall for the first time as an opposing head coach.

“We knew they’ve had some injuries and kids sick, but they finally had their whole team here tonight, so I didn’t know what to expect,” Medford head coach Ryan Brown said. Brown is an Altoona alum. “Just seeing them on film they haven’t won a ton of games, but they’ve been in a number of games. I know they attack the middle well. They have some guys that shoot the ball pretty good. We did a good job of obviously shooting the ball, but we set the tone early on defense being physical, keeping them out of the middle and holding them to one shot. I think it all just kind of piled on quickly and before they knew it (the lead) was almost 50 points.”

Medford got out to a 22-2 lead with much of the early damage coming on the offensive glass or off turnovers. Altoona came out face-guarding Medford’s Logan Baumgartner and also shading Joey Sullivan in a box-and-one, but the Raiders were able to exploit that. Altoona later tried a 1-3-1 zone and Medford torched that with its outside shooting display that included two 3-pointers apiece from Baumgartner and Sullivan, two from Tanner Hraby, one from Zach Rudolph and triples from Caleb Guden and Quinton Tlusty in the final minute.

Hraby, who was clutch last year as a freshman with three second-half 3s in a close win at Altoona, had another big night against the Railroaders with 22 points on eight-of-10 shooting from the field, including five of six from long range.

“We didn’t know they were going to throw a box-and-one or a 1-3-1 at us. They’ve only shown man-to-man and 2-3 on film,” Brown said. “I thought the guys did a really good job of recognizing the defense and just sharing the basketball. We had good shooters giving up a good shot for a great shot. It was a lot of fun to watch.”

Brown said the Raiders only had to adjust slightly to the early attention paid to Baumgartner and Sullivan by Altoona’s defense by using Baumgartner primarily as a screener. The attention he drew produced open looks for everyone else.

“All of the credit goes to these guys, like Tanner, who was in the gym this morning, getting extra shots up,” Brown said. “There are other things, like just really taking the shooting routines seriously this year and focusing on lifting the ball and shooting it. I think those things have made a big difference in knowing that the shots were going to come.”

The coaches mutually agreed to play the entire second half with a running clock. Hraby closed the best night of his young career with a 3-pointer and then a four-point play that made it 74-18 with 6:30 left. Senior reserve Quinton Tlusty, who scored 10 points, capped off his best night of the young season, with two late buckets to extend the lead to 80-18. The last of those hoops was on a nice steal and reverse layup.

Sullivan finished with 12 points, four rebounds and two steals. Baumgartner had 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Hraby finished with teamhighs of five assists and three steals.

Charlie Kleist hit three of four shots to finish with seven points and three rebounds. Guden had seven points and five boards. Rudolph had five points, three assists and two rebounds. Brigham Kelley chipped in with four points and three rebounds. Sam Blair had two points and four rebounds.

Evan Peterson led Altoona (2-5) with 10 points and hit two of five 3-point tries.

Medford, who showed up as the state’s 10th-ranked team in Division 2 in last week’s WisSports.net coaches poll, improved to 5-0 heading into an extremely challenging four-week stretch that started with the Sheboygan North Raider Shootout Wednesday and Thursday. Medford was slated to play sixth-ranked Oshkosh North (7-1) Wednesday while Plymouth and the host Raiders played in the other semifinal.

After that, Medford plays Great Northern Conference title contenders Rhinelander, Northland Pines and Mosinee right in a row, followed by games against third-ranked La Crosse Central and a sol- id squad from Menomonie.

“I think in these first five games we were kind of figuring out what our identity is,” Brown said. “I think we see what we’re capable of, but we know the level of some of these teams we are going to play is going to rise way up. But they’re super excited to see what can we do against some of the best teams in the state. That will be great because that’s a win no matter what. Whether you win or lose the game, you’re going to find out where you stand and what you have to get better at.”