Marshfield slips past Oshkosh West in WIAA Division 1 boys basketball regional semifinal

By Paul Lecker
For OnFocus

MARSHFIELD – With the game on the line, who better to have shooting free throws than the newly minted Wisconsin Valley Conference boys basketball Co-Player of the Year.

Marshfield senior Brant Bohman stepped up and made five of six free throws in the final 3:19 of the game, the final two with 5.6 seconds left, to help the Tigers pull out a hard-fought 53-50 victory over Oshkosh West in a WIAA Division 1 boys basketball regional semifinal Friday night at Marshfield High School.

Marshfield, which trailed for the final six minutes of the first half and the first 12 minutes of the second half, finished the game on an 8-2 run over the final four minutes to earn the win.

Sixth-seeded Marshfield (16-6) will travel to No. 3 Hudson (18-4) for a regional championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday. Hudson downed Superior 83-71 on Friday.

“It was exactly what I thought it would be,” Marshfield coach Scott Scheuer said. “It came down to a possession. Bohman wanted the ball. He wanted to shoot free throws, and nothing but net. You put your conference player of the year at the free throw line and you expect that. He delivered.”

The Tigers started strong, going 4-for-5 from 3-point range in the opening 5½ minutes, and led 12-11.

The lead changed hands a few times before West pulled ahead 22-21 on a 3-pointer by Jacquez Overstreet with 6:07 to go before halftime.

Marshfield managed just three points, all from the free throw line, for the rest of the half. The Tigers turned the ball over on four-straight possessions and West took advantage, building a 31-22 lead before two free throws from Tommy Olson with 7.9 seconds left brought Marshfield to within seven at the break.

“We went cold because we were impatient,” Scheuer said. “Brant gets so jacked up and he doesn’t rest on offense. He’s going to take it on his shoulders. What makes him really good, makes him really bad at times. His fire, you can use it to get warm or it can burn the house down. I just let him go, but I did take him out. He was gassed. I told him, ‘You can’t play that way on both ends of the floor, that long, that hard. You have to rest.’ I absolutely wouldn’t trade him for anybody. It’s the fire, it’s contagious.”

Marshfield fought back, but seemingly every time it could cut into the lead, the Wildcats responded.

Both teams scored on four-straight possessions each, before Marshfield finally started to make up ground.

A 3-pointer from Addison Hill, and baskets by Isaac Meverden and Olson brought the Tigers even at 45-45 with six minutes left.

West’s Riley Frey and Hill, who finished with 11 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Tigers, exchanged 3-pointers around the four-minute mark.

Marshfield wouldn’t score another field goal, but it didn’t have to as Bohman did the rest from the line.

With the score tied at 50-50 after a steal and basket by Frey, Marshfield ran two minutes off the clock with a patient possession before Bohman was fouled. He made one of two with 47.7 seconds left to put the Tigers on top by one.

West missed a shot on its next possession and the ball went out of bounds to the Tigers. Bohman was fouled immediately and nailed two more free throws to make it 53-50 with 5.6 seconds to go.

Marshfield had three fouls to give before West went into the bonus and committed two, chewing up three precious seconds. A 3-point attempt by the Wildcats missed at the buzzer.

Bohman finished with 15 points and Meverden had all 13 of his points in the first 10:06 of the second half to lead the Tigers.

West, playing without leading scorer Karter Thomas and his 24 points per game, was led by Overstreet’s 15 points and 13 from Frey.

Hudson, co-champions of the Big Rivers Conference, has won 13 of its last four 14 games and brings a similar style to the Tigers into the regional final.

“They’re like us,” Scheuer said of Hudson. “They’re tough, they have a lot of three-year starters. It’s going to be a really physical, tough game, and it will come down to one possession again, hopefully.”

The winner of Saturday’s game plays against either No. 2 Appleton West or No. 10 Eau Claire Memorial in a sectional semifinal Thursday, March 7. The sectional final is March 9 at Wisconsin Rapids.

Tigers 53, Wildcats 50
Oshkosh West 31 19 – 50
Marshfield 24 29 – 53
OSHKOSH WEST (50): Nick Pohjola 0-0 0-0 0, Riley Frey 5-8 0-0 13, A.J. Ambroso 1-3 0-0 2, Max Pieterick 0-0 0-0 0, Sam Troudt 0-1 0-0 0, Tony Lancaste 1-4 2-2 4, Caleb Fuller 4-9 0-0 10, Jacquez Overstreet 6-11 1-1 15, Luke Haasl 2-6 2-2 6. FG: 19-42. FT: 5-5. 3-pointers: 7-17 (Frey 3-4, Fuller 2-5, Overstreet 2-5, Ambroso 0-1, Lancaste 0-2). Rebounds: 24 (Haasl 9). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 8-15.
MARSHFIELD (53): Isaac Meverden 5-11 1-1 13, Brant Bohman 4-11 5-6 15, Tommy Olson 2-5 2-2 7, Cody Korth 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Posteluk 1-2 0-0 3, Preston Wagner 1-7 0-0 3, Joey Goettl 0-1 1-2 1, Addison Hill 4-6 1-2 11. FG: 17-43. FT: 10-13. 3-pointers: 9-21 (Meverden 2-3, Hill 2-3, Bohman 2-5, Posteluk 1-2, Olson 1-3, Wagner 1-5). Rebounds: 23 (Wagner 10). Turnovers: 8. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: none. Record: 16-6.

Paul Lecker is publisher of MarshfieldAreaSports.com, a contributor to OnFocus sports.