A battle of Marawood giants at Marshfield Thursday evening saw the Auburndale Eagles defeat Marathon in WIAA Boys Basketball Sectional Semifinal action, 55-47.
Marathon took an advantage in the first half behind the work of a trio of players, Brock Warren, Drew Love and Tyler Underwood. Warren hauled in 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in the first half, scoring 8 points and significantly altering the Eagles’ offense.
Underwood and Love each had 9 points going into the break, and Marathon’s 31-20 lead appeared to have Auburndale on the ropes.
The second half, however, was a much different story. Auburndale Head Coach Chad Weinfurter shared halftime adjustments were small, but made a big difference.
“We had a good game plan coming in. We needed to do a better job of executing it. We made a few alignment adjustments, but nothing major.”
Following a basket by the Eage’s Lucas Yeske with 12 minutes remaining, Underwood scored to give Marathon a 41-31 lead before Auburndale went on a run.
Senior Alex Willfahrt drained four three-pointers on the Eagles’ next four possessions, knotting the game at 43 with six minutes remaining.
With momentum on their side, Auburndale shut down Marathon the rest of the way, and when the pressure was on, seniors Mason White Eagle and Yeske closed the game out from the free throw line to seal the win.
“Mason really did a nice job reacting to his move and timed it right. His free throw shooting has been outstanding the last half of the season,” said Weinfurter.
Weinfurter praised the play of Willfahrt, Yeske and White Eagle, in particular.
“They’re seniors. They just didn’t want it to be over. All three have a unique skill set. Alex is an excellent athlete who can create his own shots. After his first three went it seemed like he was able to relax. Lucas was just so focused on his defense. He was outstanding on Warren and was able to chip in 12 points too,” Weinfurther explained. “Mason has been pretty steady all season. He knows his skill set and plays to his strengths. He plays so hard all of the time and can score over bigger guys with his outstanding footwork.”
Auburndale scoring: Scholl 6, Weber 2, Willfahrt 16, Raab 3, White Eagle 16, Yeske 12,
Weinfurter added the toughness of the Marawood Conference helps in competing on bigger stages.
“The Marawood South has been one of the premier conferences in the state for a long time. We see different styles and the coaches and players are so good. Then the postseason often turns into a conference tournament of sorts. If you can make it through that, then you have a good shot at competing with anyone.”
Marathon scoring: Woelfel 2, Love 12, Underwood 16, Warren 14, Seehafer 3
“Auburndale has always supported their teams, but this crowd is something we haven’t had for awhile. It’s really important to the kids and makes it even more special,” Weinfurter added.
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Author: David Keech
David Keech is a retired teacher and works as a sportswriter, sports official and as an educational consultant. He has reported on amateur sports since 2011, known as 'KeechDaVoice.' David can be reached at [email protected]
