RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL - Things click for Redmen in two wins, not so much at Edgar

RIB LAKE BOYS BASKETBALL

Solid offensive execution throughout led Rib Lake to its second consecutive boys basketball victory Tuesday, a 66-58 non-conference win at Owen-Withee.

The Redmen won on the Blackhawks’ home floor for the second straight season while getting the ball inside while shooting 54% from the field. The Redmen had 16 assists on their 27 field goals, got just enough key offensive rebounds and, while they had 16 turnovers, almost none of them came against Owen-Withee’s 1-2-2 halfcourt traps, limiting the Blackhawks’ ability to get out and run.

While improving to 3-1 overall, Rib Lake scored 40 of its points in the paint. Their execution was accomplished despite senior floor general Andrew Wudi being in foul trouble most of the night and playing just 11 minutes.

Rib Lake got the first points of the game on a Jackson Blomberg 3-pointer, added a Blomberg score in the post and then a three-point play from Seth Borchardt to grab a quick 8-2 lead that later hit 15-7 on another Blomberg basket. Owen-Withee had one lead in the entire game, 18-17 following a rebound basket by Quinn Hatlestad off a Colin Fritz steal. Rib Lake quickly erased that lead when Blomberg went coast to coast following a defensive rebound and Dominic Quednow sank a 3-pointer.

Quednow, a senior, scored a careerhigh 28 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Borchardt, a sophomore, also set his varsity high with 12 points while dishing out five assists.

Rib Lake closed the first half with a key 9-4 spurt that gave the Redmen a 3324 lead at the break. Quednow started it with free throws at the 5:16 mark. Borchardt scored, Henderson drilled a 3-ball, Quednow scored on the baseline off a Borchardt assist and Quednow got a big steal and breakaway layup just before the buzzer.

Rib Lake’s lead generally stayed in the eight- to 11-point range for the first seven minutes of the second half. Owen-Withee made a run to get within five on four occasions, but Rib Lake always came up with the basket that kept the Blackhawks at bay. Borchardt got two of those on drives to the hoop for 55-46 and 57-48 lead. Blomberg drove and dished to Henderson to make it 59-50 and Borchardt’s drive right down the middle got the lead back to double digits at 61-51 with 1:50 to go and pretty much sealed the deal.

Henderson, Rib Lake’s 6-5 sophomore, tied his varsity high with nine points. Talon Scheithauer added five and had four rebounds and three assists. In his limited time, Wudi had three assists and three rebounds.

Hatlestad’s 12 points paced Owen-Withee, who fell to 1-1. Mason Gay added 11.

Rib Lake, now 3-1 overall, gets a tough Marawood Conference test tonight, Thursday, when it hosts Marathon at 7:15 p.m. The Redmen face a tough North Division Tuesday at Athens, also at 7:15 p.m.

Redmen 62, Panthers 52

On Friday, Rib Lake answered Pittsville’s first basket of the game with a 12-0 run and was never seriously threatened from there in a 62-52 non-conference home win over the Panthers.

Rib Lake moved the ball around and through Pittsville’s man-to-man defense while building its 12-2 lead. After a timeout, 5:30 into the game, the Panthers switched to a 2-3 zone that Rib Lake showed good patience in breaking down the rest of the way. The Redmen turned the ball over just seven times and shot the ball fairly well, hitting 25 of 56 field goal attempts overall (44.6%), including six of 18 3-point shots.

In his first appearance of the season, Quednow gave Rib Lake a noticeable lift on both ends of the floor. He led all scorers with 19 points, pulled down eight rebounds and had four steals. Rib Lake got another steady night from Blomberg, who had 15 points, four rebounds and three steals. Scheithauer added 10 points and four boards.

The Redmen were six of 16 and missed their last five, which Pittsville wasn’t able to take full advantage of and make a late run.

Pittsville got within 12-7 early when Rib Lake made its next key run. Blomberg’s offensive rebound and reverse layup and a score from Wudi made it 16-7. Blomberg and Henderson made 3s to counter a triple from Panther Braden Friday. Michael Butler’s save near the baseline found the hands of Quednow, who drained a 3 from the left wing for a 25-11 Rib Lake lead. Pittsville got a couple of late 3s from Dawson Luther to whittle the lead down to 34-24 by halftime.

But Rib Lake came out efficient again on offense to start the second half. Wudi aggressively took the ball to the rim and scored twice, Quednow got a bucket and Seth Borchardt drained a 3 to open up a 45-24 lead. Pittsville again chipped away and got within 46-34 when Henderson’s curl cut gave him a score off a Quednow assist, Quednow got a hoop off a baseline inbound play, Blomberg got a steal and score and Henderson got two rebound hoops for a 56-39 lead. Another 6-0 run made it 62-44 and sealed it with just over four minutes left.

Henderson made his strongest impact of the young season with nine points and six rebounds. Wudi had six points, seven rebounds and five assists. Borchardt had three points and eight rebounds.

Luther and Jacob Hardinger scored 15 points apiece to lead Pittsville, who fell to 0-2 at the time.

Edgar 66, Rib Lake 36

On Thursday, the Edgar Wildcats didn’t execute like a team that just got done playing football and the Redmen couldn’t buy a basket, making just nine shots from the field in a 66-36 road loss.

The Wildcats shot 37.5% from 3-point range (nine of 24) and had 19 assists on 27 field goals while leading comfortably basically from start to finish. The Wildcats used their physicality to turn 18 offensive rebounds into 19 second-chance points. They outrebounded Rib Lake 42--29 overall and won the turnover margin 18-13.

Rib Lake was just two of 16 from the field in the first half and fell behind 3413 at halftime. Edgar, on the other hand, was six for 13 on 3s alone in the half.

Edgar started the second half on a 10-3 spurt to go up 44-16. While Rib Lake’s offense picked up a bit after that, the Redmen were only able to cut the deficit down to 23 at one point after that.

Blomberg led the Redmen with 13 points, plus he grabbed seven rebounds. Wudi scored nine points and had five rebounds and three assists. Scheithauer also finished with nine points and had two steals. Borchardt and Henderson had two points each. Henderson had six rebounds. Butler added a point and three boards.

Rib Lake finished nine for 42 from the field, including five of 21 on twos and four for 21 on 3s. The Redmen did outscore Edgar 14-3 from the free throw line, making 25 attempts. Edgar only shot three free throws and made them all.

Edgar put four players in double figures. Teegan Streit scored 15 points. Leyton Schuett and Brett Baumgartner scored 14 each. Baumgartner hit three 3s. Preston Dahlke added 12 points.