Redmen control Phillips after falling to unbeaten Falcons

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

The Rib Lake Redmen took the lead quickly and, with the exception of one early tie, never let it go Tuesday in a 5744 Marawood North win at Phillips.

The victory completed a season sweep of the Loggers for the Redmen, who improved to 3-4 in Marawood games and 3-7 overall.

Rib Lake got a big offensive lift from sophomore guard Jackson Blomberg, who drained four 3-pointers in five attempts and finished with a season-high 15 points. Tanner Vlach also hit double figures with 12 points, while Michael Borchardt had nine.

Borchardt scored the game’s first points with a three-point play and Vlach scored twice off Logger turnovers for a 7-0 lead. The Loggers responded with a 9-2 run to tie the game at 9-9, but that’s where Rib Lake regained control and never let it go as the Loggers struggled to shoot the ball.

Jackson Blomberg’s shooting, however, was just fine as hit knocked down two 3s in a row from the left side, Logan Blomberg scored off a steal and Andrew Wudi swished two free throws to open up a 20-11 lead with 8:01 left in the half. Logan Blomberg’s 3 pushed the lead to double digits for the first time at 26-15. After the Loggers crept back within 28-21, Wudi grabbed a defensive rebound and sprinted to the other end, got fouled and made the free throws with 40.9 seconds left. Vlach made one of two free throws 11 seconds later and Jordan Yanko got a key offensive putback just before the buzzer to open up a 33-21 halftime lead.

Yanko got another stickback to start the second half and Logan Blomberg scored on a hard drive from the left side to push the lead to 37-23. Up 39-29 with 10 minutes left, Rib Lake’s clinching run started with a pull-up jumper by Borchardt, who followed that up with a successful drive to the rack. After Nate Belan scored for Phillips, Blomberg sandwiched his last two 3s around a free throw by Logger Will Knaack to give Rib Lake its biggest lead of 49-32. The Loggers only got as close as 11 the rest of the way.

Logan Blomberg scored seven points for the Redmen, Wudi and Yanko had six apiece and Sam Gumz got a first-half bucket off a nice pick-and-roll with Logan Blomberg. Yanko was the rebounding leader with six, Trey Klemann grabbed five and Logan Blomberg had four while also leading Rib Lake with three assists. Vlach, Borchardt and Wudi had two assists each. Vlach, Borchardt and Logan Blomberg had two steals apiece.

Belan led Phillips (1-8, 2-11) with 17 points, while Dreew Hauschild added 10. The Loggers turned the ball over 20 times, compared to Rib Lake’s 10 and shot just 30% from the field (15 for 50). The Loggers also made just 11 of 21 free throws.

Rib Lake hit 20 of 52 field goal tries (38.5%) and was 12 of 15 at the foul line.

See RL BOYS on page 16 Rib Lake returns to its home court for the first time in a month tonight, Thursday, to face Auburndale at 7:15 p.m. in a tough Marawood crossover. Rib Lake will go to Chequamegon Tuesday, looking to avenge a 66-55 loss to the Screaming Eagles from Dec. 14.

Flambeau 59, Rib Lake 49

After leading most of the first half, the Redmen couldn’t hold on in the second half and lost 59-49 to undefeated Flambeau Monday in their first game in nearly two weeks.

Harley Opachan sank five of 13 3-pointers and led the 12-0 Falcons with 22 points, while Blake Moore scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half as Flambeau denied an upset bid by the Redmen, who played their first game in nearly two weeks due to quarantines last week.

The Redmen held Flambeau to one field goal, an Opachan 3-pointer, in the first 10 minutes but didn’t take full advantage of the opportunity to build a big lead in that team. As it was, the Redmen scored the game’s first six points and opened up a 13-5 lead following a Borchardt basket off a long pass from Logan Blomberg, Blomberg’s left-handed drive and Blomberg’s 3-pointer.

Flambeau finally got some shots to fall and went on a 9-0 run to take its first lead at 14-13. Vlach’s back-to-back 3-pointers put the Redmen back on top 19-16 and Borchardt’s late bucket answered a Giles Groothausen 3 and put Rib Lake ahead 21-19 at the break.

Wudi’s free throw to open the second half put the lead at three, but that was the last time Rib Lake would hold the advantage. Moore sank a 3 to tie it and Opachan’s triple put Flambeau in front. Baskets by Yanko and Blomberg twice brought Rib Lake within one. But Opachan’s 3 and his score off a Moore steal put the Falcons up 34-28.

Rib Lake pulled within 37-34 on a three-point play by Logan Blomberg with 8:50 left and a baseline jumper by Klemann. But again, Flambeau got some key plays with Moore getting an and-one off a third-chance opportunity and he got another three-point play off a nice backdoor cut with the assist going to Kevin Ross, making it 45-36 with 6:24 left.

Rib Lake cut a 12-point lead to 54-49 on scores by Yanko and Borchardt and free throws by Jackson Blomberg. A steal gave the Redmen the chance to make it a one-score game, but they wound up turning the ball back over. They got another chance but Vlach’s 3-point try with a minute left wouldn’t fall and the Falcons iced the game from there at the free throw line.

Borchardt led Rib Lake with 14 points, while Logan Blomberg added 12 and Wudi chipped in with eight. Vlach’s two first-half 3s gave him six points, Yanko finished with five and Klemann and Jackson Blomberg added two apiece. Logan Blomberg and Vlach had eight rebounds apiece and Yanko had seven as Rib Lake outrebounded the Falcons 41-32. Wudi had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Borchardt had four boards and two assists. Vlach added three assists.