By Jared Schmletzer
Reporter
On Saturday morning the Merrill boys basketball team faced off against LaCrosse Central in the sectional finals at Wausau East. LaCrosse was dominant from the tip and jumped out to an early 15 point lead and held on throughout the game for an 81-55 victory.
“I’m really proud of the team’s effort and fight despite the outcome on Saturday.” Comments Merrill head coach Jake Schalow, “I thought the first two or three minutes were a blur for our team, and it was because of LaCrosse Central’s length and athleticism. They forced us into a couple of turnovers right away and jumped out to a 15 point lead a couple of minutes in.”
The Jays would start to settle in and go into halftime trailing 34-23. Quinn Steckauer’s 14 first half points led the Jays. Michael Casper would score four and Piersen Pyan and Kordell Renken each scored two.
Merrill would cut the game down to single digits for a little while, however LaCrosse then ramped up the intensity and took a big lead. “We never could quite make a big enough run.” adds coach Schalow. “Then we were stuck when we had to go man-to-man because they spread us out and held the ball. Once in man, and needing to increase possessions, they broke out traps and got easy baskets.”
Merrill would ultimately lose by a final score of 81-55, coming up just one game short of a state appearance.
Coach Schalow shared his thoughts on the season saying, “My thought on the season was that it was a huge success, even though it ended differently than we wanted it to. We set a school record for wins (21), won the first Conference Championship in schools history (97 years), were able to protect our home court and go undefeated at home (12-0), and win the second of back to back Regional Championships. I cannot say enough positives about our team, and our senior class. I feel very fortunate to have been able to coach this team, and these players, all of whom represent Merrill Basketball, Merrill Area Public Schools, and the Merrill Community so positively!”