Bluejay Boys sweep four straight games

The Merrill Varsity Boys Basketball Team completed a grueling stretch of four games in five days from Jan. 13-18, winning all four contests to surge into a tie for third place in Conference standings.

Starting the week with an Antigo nail-biter
On Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, the Bluejays traveled to Antigo to play the Red Robins and trailed 19-30 at halftime but rallied for a 50-49 victory.
“There must be something about that gym for us,” said Merrill Boys Varsity Basketball Head Coach Troy Pieper. “Two years ago it was very similar to tonight’s game — couldn’t make a shot to start the game, they couldn’t miss a shot, and we found ourselves in a battle all night. And thankfully, two years ago Carter Baade hit a game winner for us, and tonight it was Eli Burtman to do the same.”
“We started 0-12 from the field, dug ourselves a hole right away and were down 11 at the break, but in the second half our pressure caused them some issues and sped them up some and their shots were a little rushed and we turned them over some and converted, and thankfully, Eli was there to put back a missed free throw with one second left to let us escape with a much needed win,” he said.

Tyson Ott led Merrill with 16 points, Cooper Wendorf added 13, and Eli Burtman notched a double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
“Eli really controlled things on the glass for us tonight, and Tyson was a little bit too much for Antigo to defend,” Pieper said. “Having four games in five days, it was nice to start the busy week off with a win no matter how we got it done.”
Box Score
Merrill 50 @ Antigo 49

Second game of the week ends with dramatic overtime Merrill win

On Thursday, Jan. 15, Merrill hosted Medford and trailed 29-31 at halftime before pulling out an 81-80 overtime victory.
“What a game, it’s hard to find words to describe the atmosphere and how that game went down at the end,” Pieper said. “Simply amazing and one we will remember.”
“Down 12 with about three minutes to go and the guys just didn’t give up. Simple as that. They refused to lose,” he said. “Battling some sickness on the team and knowing it was the first of three games in a row, some teams would have folded, but the guys kept believing and just kept grinding.”
Four Bluejays reached double figures in the victory. Ott, Burtman, Payton Zimmerman, and Wendorf all contributed offensively.
“Tyson was the best player on the floor, Medford — which is one of the best man-to-man defenses in the Conference — didn’t have a single person who could guard him. He was attacking all night and really was unstoppable,” Pieper said.
“Eli followed up his impressive performance in the Antigo game with an even more impressive performance with 18 points and 17 rebounds,” he said. “He owned the inside and again came up clutch in the final seconds of regulation, scoring the tying bucket with just a couple seconds remaining.”
“Payton had a nice game, as well, with 11 points and 4 steals, and Cooper had a very efficient 12 points tonight,” Pieper said.
Box Score
Medford 80 @ Merrill 81 (OT)

Merrill lands third win in a row, this time against Lakeland

On Friday, Jan. 16, the Bluejays were on the road again, this time to play Lakeland, a game Merrill was leading 31-28 at halftime en route to their third win of the week, this time a decisive 64-54 victory.
“Third game in four days, coming off a hard-fought overtime win against Medford, having to go on the road to Lakeland — which is never an easy place to play at, I couldn’t be more proud of the guys, how they came out and played,” Pieper said.
“We had some chances to really extend leads, which is something we need to continue to work on, but credit to Lakeland — they kept chipping away every time we opened up a double digit lead,” he said. “But a nice run to end the game let us get out with a nice 10-point win.”
Ott scored 19 points on 8-11 shooting to lead the Bluejays on the board.
“Tyson was impressive again,” Pieper said. “He’s been more aggressive going to the hoop, which I think has been the key to him getting off to fast starts. He is such a skilled player that not many can guard him one-on-one. He always finds a way to get in the paint and can finish in traffic with the best of them.”
“I thought Charles Kalinowski might have had his best game of the year,” he said. “His stats might not jump off the page, but his energy off the bench was the key in the second half. He really looked good tonight.”
“To think we started the week 1-3 in Conference and down toward the bottom and now have won three in a row in a week to finish the first half of Conference season 4-3 and tied for third is pretty impressive and says a lot about the mental toughness of the guys we have,” Pieper said.
Box Score
Merrill 64 @ Lakeland 54

Bluejays finish their week with a spectacular home court win against Three Lakes

On Saturday, Jan. 17, the Bluejays played Three Lakes on their home court in an exciting game that had them leading 35-24 at halftime before taking the final win of the week by a score of 82-61. To make it extra special, they had a great hometown crowd in attendance that came to celebrate Merrill Basketball Hall of Fame Night.
“Hall of Fame Night is a special day with the boys and girls teams playing and honoring the newest inductees, the energy in the gym is close to a playoff game energy — the excitement you can just feel — and sometimes that can cause you to play a little too fast or not channel that energy into positive results,” Pieper said. “But we played really well tonight, from start to finish. We played hard and took care of business to finish a busy week with an impressive win against a solid Three Lakes team.”
“Another game with four players in double figures,” he said. “It’s nice to see more and more this becoming a trend of ours.” Ott, Wendorf, Burtman, and Curtis Kimble took the lead on offense.
“I thought Cooper might have had one of his best overall games this year, as he filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 steals,” Pieper said.
“Eli Burtman had his most efficient game of the season with 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting,” he said.
“Curtis Kimble had an impressive second half off the bench,” Pieper said. “He is one of our best shooters, and when he sees one fall, he can just start feeling it, and that is what happened as he hit 5 of 8 threes in the second half to finish with 15 points.”
“What a week! Not normal to play four games in five days and finish the week with four straight wins, but we talked about it after the disappointing loss to Rhinelander last week,” Pieper said. “We set a goal to go 4-0, and the guys refused to not hit that goal.”
Box Score
Three Lakes 61 @ Merrill 82