Hatchets buried; Hraby goes off for 34 in Antigo win

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

The Medford boys basketball team capped a successful three-game road swing last week by taking care of business at last-place Tomahawk Friday, taking a double-digit lead within five minutes and steadily extending it the rest of the way in an 80-37 rout.

Logan Baumgartner led the Raiders with 26 points, six rebounds and six assists. Tanner Hraby had his second straight big outing with 18 points on seven- of-11 shooting, including four of six from long range, and he had five assists. Joe Sullivan knocked down a couple of 3s and added 14 points, four assists and two steals.

The Raiders had another highly-efficient night on the offensive end, shooting 51.8% overall from the field (29 of 56) and 45.2% from behind the arc (14 of 31). They also made all eight of their free throws and scored 20 transition points to Tomahawk’s none. Medford turned the ball over just five times while forcing the Hatchets into 20. Tomahawk shot 37.8% from the field (17 of 45).

“From that Wausau West game (on Feb. 1) we really wanted to set the tone on the road,” Medford head coach Ryan Brown said. “Defensively is where it has to start and again, just being patient offensively. We know we have plenty of guys who can make shots. As long as we take the right ones we’re going to make them.”

The Raiders broke the game open with a mid-first half flurry. Leading 11-6 after Tomahawk’s Tyler Welke drained his second triple of the early going –– Tomahawk’s last 3 of the game –– Baumgartner sank a 3, Hraby scored in transition and Sullivan knocked down a trey, forcing Tomahawk into a timeout down 21-6. Hraby, Quinton Tlusty and Sullivan hit 3s in a surge that opened up a 34-14 lead. Hraby buried another 3 in transition and Baumgartner scored from the baseline for a 41-18 halftime lead.

The lead quickly got over 30 in the second half after 3s from Caleb Guden and Hraby and got as high as 44 in the final moments.

Tlusty hit two 3s in the game and had a solid outing off the bench with eight points. Guden scored five points and added four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Zach Rudolph hit a 3 and dished out two assists. Sam Blair had a bucket, three rebounds and two steals. Ty Metz got 10 quality minutes off the bench, scored a bucket and had five rebounds. Charlie Kleist had a hoop. Steve Hraby had three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Welke led Tomahawk with 14 points.

Medford 81, Antigo 41

About two weeks after Baumgartner set a single-game school record with 10 made 3-pointers, Tanner Hraby made a run at equaling it by sinking eight and scoring a career-high 34 points in an 81-41 win at Antigo Thursday.

Hraby basically was Medford’s offense in a competitive first half, scoring 23 of the team’s points as it held a 34-25 lead at the break.

Hraby’s first 3-pointer and a score off a steal put the Raiders up 12-4. After the Red Robins scrapped back within 13-10, Hraby sank a 3-ball, two free throws and got a steal and an assist on pass to Sullivan. Hraby knocked down a right corner 3 off a lead pass from Rudolph to make it 23-10.

Antigo made another run, pulling within 26-21 when Hraby went on a personal eight-point spree, scoring off a Sullivan steal and then knocking down consecutive 3s to put the Raiders up 13 before Antigo scored twice in the last half-minute.

Any hope Antigo had of pulling off a major upset vanished early in the second half as Medford was a bit sharper on both ends of the floor. Baumgartner, after a scoreless first half, went off for seven quick points, Hraby got five more and Sullivan had four in a 17-4 opening run that created a 51-29 lead.

Then, 3-pointers from Baumgartner, Hraby and Brigham Kelley extended the lead to 62-32. Rudolph, Tanner Hraby and Steve Hraby knocked down triples during the finishing push that stretched the margin to 40. For Kelley and Steve Hraby, the trifectas were their first of the year.

Baumgartner finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals. Sullivan had nine points, seven steals, four assists and four rebounds. Guden had a solid outing with seven points, two assists and two steals.

Steve Hraby scored Medford’s last five points, Blair scored five in the second half, including a trey, and Rudolph added four points and two assists. Kleist had two points and six rebounds. Tlusty added a bucket. Tanner Hraby had five steals and four assists.

Mason Gray led the Robins with nine points and 16 rebounds.

Antigo turned the ball over 29 times compared to Medford’s 14. For the second time in a week, the Raiders wound up with some impressive shooting numbers against Antigo. They shot 54.7% overall from the field (29 of 53), including 15 of 28 on 3-pointers. Medford, however, made just eight of 23 free throws. Antigo was 18 of 49 from the field and collected 16 offensive rebounds. The Robins were just one of nine on 3s and got outscored 45-3 from behind the arc.

Rainbow Gymnastics club member Aurelia Brushaber finished first in her Level 2 gymnastics competition at Hub City Gymnastics in Marshfield. She placed first in the floor exercise with a 9.3, first on the balance beam with a 9.4 and third on the uneven bars with an 8.1. She also won the award for most powerful vault.SUBMITTED PHOTO