Jared Schmeltzer
Reporter
The Merrill boys basketball team hosted the Wausau East Lumberjacks on Tuesday night, Feb. 4. The Bluejays would hit the ground running and start the game with a 14-2 run. East would bring the game back to within single digits before halftime, however after the break the Jays would go on a tear and win the game by a final score of 90-45.
In the first half of play both East and Merrill would trade big runs, with the Jays taking their’s first and getting off to a 14-2 start in the first four minutes. Piersen Pyan had the hot hand early, knocking down back-to-back corner three pointers along with a layup through contact. Following the Jays big run it took East only six minutes to get right back into the game, with an 18-9 run bringing the score to 23-20. Merrill would pull ahead slightly in the final eight minutes of the half, going into the halfitme break with a 37-28 lead.
The second half of action saw East open on a 5-0 run to cut the Merrill lead to just four points, however that would be as close as they’d get for the rest of the game. The Bluejays put the pedal to the metal from that point on, going on a 17-6 run in the next four minutes and pushing their lead to 54-39. A fast break dunk from Caleb Timm sparked the beginning of the end for the Lumberjacks, as Merrill would score 36 points to East’s six in the final 12 minutes. During the Jays huge run, Merrill’s Nathan Woller would score 12 straight points, all while the Jays held the Lumberjacks scoreless.
Woller led Merrill in scoring on the night with 24 points, along with five rebounds and five assists. Other top performers for Merrill include: Michael Casper (14 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast); Piersen Pyan (13 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast); Connor Mootz (9 pts, 6 ast, 3 reb); Bailey Turenne (9 pts) and Caleb Timm (8 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast).
Merrill will be back on the court on Saturday, Feb. 15, as they travel to Columbus High School. Tip off is set for 4 p.m.