By Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
On Tuesday night the Merrill boys basketball team hosted the Wausau West Warriors for some Wisconsin Valley Conference action. Merrill would take control very early and continue to extend their lead throughout the game to take the 66-41 victory.
“I am happy we were able to make a nice run in the first half to open the game up,” comments Merrill head coach Jake Schalow. “It started with us getting a couple steals that turned into transition layups, which lead to a couple 3 pointers than in the coming possessions.”
West was able to keep the game close for the first few minutes, even taking a three point lead at one point. The Jays would then go on a 12-0 run, hitting four three-pointers to lead 22-10 with seven minutes to play in the half. The Jays went to the locker room at halftime holding a 35-19 lead on the Warriors.
The second half of action saw the Jays extend their lead further, going on a 16-8 run to open up the half, leading 51-27 with 11 minutes to play. Merrill had no problems holding their lead the rest of the way, finishing the game with the 66-41 win.
“I am a little disappointed with how sloppy and lethargic we played in parts of the game,” adds coach Schalow. “We made some plays that I had hoped we had grown out of throughout the season. With the stretch run of Wisconsin Valley Conference games we are set to play, we will need to eliminate those, and be better.”
Quinn Steckbauer reached the 1,000 point milestone in the first half of the game. Coach Jake Schalow was very proud of quinn saying, “It was a special night for Quinn Steckbauer, I am very happy and proud of him for scoring 1,000 career points. He has been a tremendous leader for our program the last three years and truly earned this accomplishment.”
Michael Casper would lead the Jays in scoring with 26 points to go along with five rebounds, four assists and a steal. Steckbauer finished the game with 14 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Chase Bonnell had 11 points on the night with six rebounds, and three steals.
Merrill is now 6-1 in conference play, same record as first place SPASH who defeated the Jays earlier on in the season.
Merrill will be back on the court on Friday as they travel to Marshfield for another big conference game with the third place Tigers, starting at 7:15 p.m.