Raiders avoid upset at Pines, shut down Wildcats

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

Coming off a stretch of three games against ranked teams and facing a stretch of three tough games in four days starting Friday, Tuesday’s game at Northland Pines served as a prime trap game for Medford’s boys basketball team.

And the Eagles were ready to spring the upset trap.

Playing energetic, pesky defense and hitting some timely 3-pointers, Northland Pines put the Raiders in their first double-digit deficit of the season in the first half and never went away once Medford finally took the lead late in the half. It went down to the final seconds before the Raiders finally escaped with a 56-51 win and their undefeated run intact at 10-0.

At 4-0 in league play, Medford still sits atop the Great Northern Conference at 4-0, a game ahead of Rhinelander and a game and a half ahead of 2-1 Mosinee, who visits Raider Hall Friday. Pines fell to 0-3 in the GNC and 3-5 overall but not without a fight.

Led by seven early points from Colby Kruse and eight quick points from Ryan Muench, including a couple of 3s, Northland Pines jumped ahead 22-11 about 10 minutes into the game and had the normally- quiet Northland Pines fieldhouse filled with energy.

Medford stifled that energy by going on an 18-3 run over the last seven minutes that started with 3-pointers from Logan Baumgartner and Peyton Kuhn. Kuhn assisted on a Brady Hupf hoop, then he scored off a Hupf assist on a press break to pull the Raiders within 23-21.

Pines sophomore guard Nolan Lurvey split the Raider defense to score at the rim, but Hupf assisted on a Kuhn basket and then scored himself. Joe Sullivan put Medford ahead for good getting a sideline steal, dribbling behind his back past a defender and scoring from the left side. Sullivan’s pull-up in the lane with three seconds left gave the Raiders a 29-25 halftime lead.

Kruse’s 3-pointer gave Pines a shortlived 34-33 lead early in the second half and Deven Millis later hit another long ball to put the Eagles ahead 38-37 with nine minutes left.

Hupf answered with a top of the key 3 and he hit two free throws to put Medford up 42-38. Baumgartner converted a three-point play at the seven-minute mark with a drive from the left side and he scored from the right block on Medford’s next possession. Nate Retterath stuck back a missed 3 by Hupf to give the Raiders their biggest lead at 49-40.

The Eagles chipped away from the 3-point line and pulled within 53-51 on a Muench 3-pointer with 1:27 to go. The Raiders missed eight free throws in the last five minutes to keep hope alive for Pines, but Kuhn hit one of two and Ty Baker sealed it with two more in the last 15 seconds.

Pines outscored Medford 27-9 from the 3-point line, hitting nine of 28 long-range shots, while Medford was three of 14. The Raiders hammered Pines with 38 points in the paint, compared to 14 for the Eagles and recorded eight key secondchance points. Medford turned the ball over 18 times against the Eagles’ aggressive defense while forcing 16. The Raiders shot well overall from the field, hitting at a 45.8% clip (22 of 48). Pines was 18 of 48 overall (37.5%).

Hupf led four Raiders in double digits with 17 points. He added seven rebounds and two steals. Baumgartner scored 11 and had seven rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Kuhn and Baker scored 10 apiece. Baker had seven rebounds and three assists.

Sullivan hit three of four shots and had six crucial points off the bench. Retterath had a bucket, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Caleb Guden had five defensive rebounds in some quality minutes off the bench.

The Eagles got 13 points from Kruse, their top senior. The rest of the team’s key players are primarily sophomores. Two of them, Muench and Lurvey, scored 11 apiece.

After Friday’s matchup with Mosinee, Medford will head to Merrill Saturday for a 5 p.m. rescheduled non-conference game and then host a very good Chippewa Falls (5-1) squad in a rescheduled game Monday at 7:15 p.m.

Medford 64, Edgar 41

Hupf played the leading role in a quick but explosive surge where Medford turned a five-point second-half lead into a 31-point bulge in a 64-41 non-conference win over Edgar Dec. 29 at Raider Hall.

The Raiders never trailed but the Wildcats, who entered the game ranked seventh in the WisSports.net Division 4 state rankings, hung around using a 6-0 run to end the first half to pull within 27-21 and getting a couple of 3s from Kyle Brewster to pull within 34-29 early in the second half.

But Hupf, who had a huge night statistically, muscled into the mid-post for a score that started the 29-3 run that took down the Wildcats. Hupf assisted on Baumgartner’s baseline jumper, which was followed by a Retterath transition score, two free throws by Hupf and a steal and score by Hupf. Hupf then got another steal, which led to a Sullivan hoop. Baker blocked a shot at the defensive end, then assisted on Baumgartner’s 3-pointer. Just like that, it was 49-29.

“In the second half we came out and set the tone,” Medford head coach Ryan Brown said. “They were so worried about Peyton, I thought other guys really did a good job. Brady stepped up huge. He must’ve had five or six steals, he was getting in passing lanes, he dominated the paint. Those were big contributions, just the defensive energy he brought.”

Brewster hit a 3 for Edgar, but Medford’s momentum couldn’t be stopped. Hupf scored again, Baumgartner hit a 10-foot jumper after catching a wouldbe save attempt by Edgar on the baseline, then a Hupf steal led to a long ball by Baumgartner. Kuhn swished a 3-ball from the top of the key, Baker scored off a long outlet pass from Baumgartner and Tanner Hraby took a defensive rebound and went coast to coast to push the lead to 63-32 with 5:30 left.

Hupf just missed a double-double with 16 points and nine rebounds. He also had five assists, five steals and a blocked shot. Baumgartner had a big night as well, going eight for 13 from the field, including six of nine from long range, to finish with a game-high 22 points. He added six rebounds and two blocked shots.

Baumgartner hit a couple of 3s and Owen Wipf added one as Medford pulled out to a 27-15 lead late in the first half. But Edgar’s Drew Guden scored and Kaleb Wolf added two buckets off steals to pull Edgar within six at the half.

Baumgartner and Brewster traded 3s to start the second half when Edgar drew a point closer before the Raiders went on their clinching run.

“They played super physical with us in the first half, really chased us off screens and did a good job,” Brown said. “In my opinion I thought there were some fouls, but it was fine. We kept playing through it, kept our cool.”

Kuhn scored eight points and had three rebounds. Baker had six points, eight rebounds and two assists. Retterath chipped in with five points and three boards. Wipf finished with three points, Sullivan and Hraby had a bucket each. Sullivan had five assists.

Brewster’s 12 points led Edgar, while Guden, an All-Marawood standout, was held to nine.

“Peyton played great defense on Guden,” Brown said. “He was really all over him.”

Medford won the turnover battle 20-13, easily outrebounded Edgar 37-21 and hit 10 of 26 3-pointers to outscore the Wildcats from long range 30-12.

The win was the second in as many nights for Medford. The Raiders beat Xavier, a ranked Division 3 team on Dec. 28. Brown looked forward to seeing how Medford would handle the back-to-back games against quality opponents and was pleased with the result.

“I think the energy was so-so to start,” Brown said. “It’s not that it was bad. (Edgar) has been preparing for us for a week because they haven’t played. When we came out offensively, we moved the ball OK but we weren’t necessarily cutting as hard as we usually do and screening. I think we got a wake-up call and that’s what you want from these games. Play a physical, tough team. We responded really well after the break.”