The Merrill boys dropped an important Valley game to D.C. Everest at home last Tuesday, and fell behind host Wausau East on Friday, but the Jays rallied to a 40-39 triumph.
The Jays improved to 10-7 overall and were a half-game out of second in the Valley with Rapids behind D.C. Everest at 5-3 before Tuesday’s game at Wausau West (2-6) and Friday’s contest at 1-6 Marshfield. The state’s top-ranked SPASH was 13-0 and 8-0.
The Lumberjacks grabbed a 12-4 lead in the first quarter, and bumped it to 30-20 by intermission by hitting 6-of-8 three-pointers. A 6-5 third-quarter edge impacted the lead just enough for a 14-4 fourth to assure victory.
“East shot the ball really well in the first half,” MHS coach Kurt Soderberg said. “Through our press and, really, just excellent defense, we were able to take a lead with a minute-and-a-half left. Overall, we weren’t as efficient on offense as we needed to be. It took a lot of toughness and resiliency. It was a good game; definitely entertaining.”
Chaz Mootz led the Jays with 20 points and hit the final two baskets, the second with just six seconds remaining. The Lumberjacks ended up with two chances, their first miss was knocked out of bounds and the second was rebounded by Trey Stevenson.
Chaz Mootz (20 p, 6 r, 2 st), Austin Reissmann (13 p, 2 r, 2 st), Jake Anderson (4 p, 6 r, 2 a), Drew Hoff (4 r), Stevenson (2 p, 2 r), Keenan Stellingworth (2 r), Scott Wallace (2 a) prompted Merrill.
MHS–FG: 14-38 (37%). FT: 9-15 (60%). WE–FG: 11-35 (31%). FT: 12-16 (75%).
Opportunity escape
The Jays also had an important game at home on Tuesday, a showdown of the two 4-2 teams in the Valley in D.C. Everest. Merrill jumped out to a 13-8 lead in the first, but the Evergreens switched it to a 27-24 deficit by halftime, converting an inbounds pass in the final second for two points.
Everest inched it to 35-31 in the third. Merrill played strong full-court defense and came up with a few big steals only to miss capitalizing with points. A 10-0 run early in the fourth put Merrill in a big hole. The Jays would cut it to 49-40 with 2:01 left on a pair of Anderson free throws, but MHS would get no closer.
“We were up 18-11 and it just felt like we were ready to extend the lead when one of their kids hit back-to-back threes,” Soderberg said. “After that it was a dogfight. We didn’t play well in any phases of the game. I was particularly disappointed in our defense. Fifty-three points is too much. It shouldn’t happen. All we could do is move forward and that’s what we did.”
Merrill was led by Mootz (14 p), Anderson (10 p), Stellingworth (9), Reissmann (3), Wallace (2) and Sutton (2).
MHS–FG: 14-35 (40%). FT: 12-16 (75%). DCE–FG: 20-36 (56%). FT: 8-10 (80%).