Raiders fly away from Blue Jays and Red Robins

MEDFORD BOYS BASKETBALL

While 3-point shooting is typically a big part of Medford’s offensive game, the Raiders weren’t going to turn down open lanes to the basket Tuesday, which they took full advantage of in a 72-34 blowout win at Merrill.

The Raiders racked up the large margin with just six 3-point baskets, three of which came well after the issue was decided in the second half. Senior forward Ty Metz was the leading attacker on offense, pouring in a season-high 19 points while finding his way to the hoop from the baseline and high post. Senior guard Zach Rudolph slashed his way to nine points, while Tanner Hraby scored all 12 of his points in the first half, including two 3s that broke the game open late in the half.

Defensively, the Raiders got it done for the most part, keeping Merrill out of the middle and contesting shots and passing lanes while holding the Blue Jays to 24.6% shooting from the field (14 of 57) and forcing 19 turnovers, which led to 24 Medford points.

The win was Medford’s third straight and puts the Raiders at 4-2 overall. Merrill slid to 2-2.

The Raiders didn’t really find their groove until the middle of the first half. Once they did, the suspense was over quickly.

Leading 12-10, Medford got a baseline drive from Metz and Hraby’s cut and score off a Charlie Gierl assist. Logan Baumgartner, who had a quiet seven points, drilled a 3 to make it 19-12 and Hraby hit one shortly thereafter for a 22-13 lead. Rudolph, Metz and Hraby all scored off drives to the rack. Merrill’s Carter Baade hit a 3 with 5:50 left in the half to make it 26-16. Medford closed out the half from there with a 15-0 run. Metz battled for a loose ball and score, Rudolph drove and scored and Hraby hit a 3 to make it 37-16. Metz scored again and Hraby ran out the clock and scored in the lane just before the buzzer for a 41-16 lead.

The Raiders didn’t let up to start the second half. After Merrill scored first on a Tyson Glisch putback, Charlie Kleist stuck back his own miss, Rudolph scored again, Metz got a steal and score and he scored again off a long assist from Baumgartner. Baumgartner got a steal and though his dunk attempt wasn’t clean, the ball fell for a 53-18 lead that allowed head coach Ryan Brown to substitute freely the rest of the way.

Senior Anakin Stokes took advantage of his time on the court, sinking a pair of 3s. Carson Carbaugh finished out the game with a bomb for his first varsity points and Owen Stockwell got in the book for the first time, hitting one of two free throws. Medford shot a solid 50% from the field (29 of 58).

Kleist finished with 10 points for Medford and Gierl added five.

Glisch led the Blue Jays with 13 points, while Badde hit a trio of 3s for nine.

Medford is at Tomahawk Friday for a Great Northern Conference contest with the Hatchets that tips at 7:15 p.m. The Raiders will be at Altoona to face old friend Paul Henrichs and his Railroaders on Tuesday before preparing for Brookfield Academy in the first round of the Sheboygan North tournament on Dec. 28.

Medford 92, Antigo 50

After four tight games decided one way or another by an average of about five points per game, the Raiders broke one open early Friday and didn’t look back in a 92-50 blowout win over winless Antigo at Raider Hall.

No matter what Antigo tried defensively in the first half, the Raiders moved the ball well, got open shots and, more often than not, knocked them down. They made 22 of 36 shots overall in the half (61.1%), including 15 of 18 on two-point shots (83.3%) and seven of 18 3-pointers.

Hraby led an early surge that put Medford up 29-10 by scoring 15 quick points, including three 3s. He hit four 3s and had 18 points in the half and finished with 23 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds.

“I think we were more patient, getting better shots rather than just coming down, make one pass and shoot,” Hraby said, adding that he worked on his shot before and after school Friday to help work out some kinks in his shot. “I think our patience was better. We pushed the ball well and when we were open we attacked. But we also kicked a lot more instead of taking contested layups.”

“I thought we came out and created some turnovers and we just executed really well both offensively and defensively,” Medford head coach Ryan Brown said. “There were some little things we were trying, some quick hitters. Even the shots we missed, almost everything was off a great shot. It didn’t matter if they ran man or zone, we got the ball where we wanted to get it and we found our shooters and got good opportunities.”

Medford got contributions from several sources while building a 30-point halftime lead at 51-21. Baumgartner hit two 3s and had 12 points in the half. Kleist had eight points inside, Vincent Seidel came off the bench and had a bucket and a kickout for Hraby’s fourth 3. Nick Steliga assisted Seidel on his score and hit a 3 of his own and scored the last bucket of the half. Metz had a hustle rebound that led to a Hraby triple and scored off another offensive rebound.

“Against New Richmond Tanner found so many other ways to affect the game, attacking, passing ahead, getting his steals,” Brown said. “I was really proud of him with that because he really ran the show. Tonight we were trying to do more of that. You call the play, you tell your team what we have to do, just so he’s that voice out there. I was glad to see him hit his first shot and then it didn’t matter if it was zone or man.”

Brown said earlier in the week, he felt the Raiders were just a half-step in many cases from being where they needed to be defensively after their challenging fourgame stretch to start the year. He said they got closer to locking in on Friday.

“About five minutes into the game, I thought we really locked in for the rest of the half,” Brown said. “We only gave up the 21 points, it was a fast-paced game, so there was a lot of possessions for them to just score the 21. Second half I loved how we came out in the first five or six minutes. We wanted to come out and trap a little bit. We didn’t want to relax.”

“We’ve been working on rotation in practice a lot, just smashing down harder, getting all the way down to the level of the ball,” Hraby said. “I think it showed a little bit tonight, but I think we still have a ways to go. I think we’re getting there. We’re going in the right direction.”

Medford led by as many as 46 in the second half, which allowed Medford to go deeper into the bench for the first time. Steliga finished with 10 points and three assists, Seidel had three rebounds and two assists to go with two points, Stokes had three rebounds and an assist and Hayden Koester hit a late 3.

“We’ve played really physical, big teams,” Brown said. “We told them that, with Charlie (Gierl) sick, we need to find a couple of guys. We felt we knew we’d be more skilled than Antigo, but we knew they were big and strong. It was a real opportunity for them to show they can get in there. With Vincent, Anakin and Nick, they really went in there and fought for everything, whether it was on defense or every rebound. That’s good.”

Baumgartner led all scorers with 27 points and added four steals, three rebounds and two assists. Rudolph had nine points and two assists. Kleist finished with 14 points, three assists and two rebounds. Metz had four points and three rebounds.

Antigo was led by its big guys in the post, Ty Kohler and Mason Gray, who had 14 and nine points.