Wisconsin Dells over Marshall

I was determined to get to a game tonight so I took in the closest game to me and one of the few games being played in my home town Wisconsin Dells. Dells had a pretty decent record and they were playing Marshall who has had a pretty strong tradition so I figured what the heck, close and should be a solid game.

I have to be honest the Wisconsin Dells team really surprised me. They seem to have a lot more height then the last couple days and have a lot of long lanky guys that are around 6'3 or so. This was a pretty physical game throughout as both teams did their fair share of pushing and grabbing which led to both teams finding themselves in foul trouble in the first half and then again in the second half. Early on both teams looked to run and Marshall took the lead behind some hot shooting from 5'11 junior Reece Leistikow who hit a pair of early threes. Later in the half Marshall got their points from the free throw line where they only shot about 50 percent while Dells started hitting the threes. I really think it was Marshall's lack of subbing that hurt them late as they couldn't keep up with the Dells players which led to wide open three after wide open three. Dells sharpshooter 6'3 junior Alex Weiss was unconscious hitting four straight threes at one point and the fifth shot rimmed out. Weiss even banked in a three at the buzzer leading to 22 points in the first half. The hot shooting led to a 48 to 36 lead at half.

In the second half Marshall went to a zone defense which slowed the Dells offense down and they kind of stalled for the first nine minutes of the second half. Even with the Dells offense stalling Marshall just couldn't get any momentum and never got the lead down to single digits and never really threaten the Dells too much. Leistikow forced some shots driving to the lane where he scored but, he seemed to struggle most of the night with the Dells length. The other issue for Marshall was that outside of Leistiko, 6'5 senior Adam Wehking was really the only other consistent scorer. Wehking did a nice job battling on the glass and scoring on put backs and post ups. Marshall really struggled feeding the post so Wehking had to just outwork guys to get his baskets on the glass. Freshmen 6'3 Tyler Chadwick seemed like another scoring threat but, he really struggled with his shot all night and could never get things going.

Wisconsin Dells finally did get things going the way you always do against the zone defense by getting the ball to the free throw line hitting three shots from around 15 foot and finding cutters when they got the ball to the low post. A pair of back to back and one's really sunk Marshalls chances and then were sealed when Leistikow fouled out with about three minutes left and then got a technical leading to Weiss hitting all four of his free throw shots.

Top Players
Alex Weiss 6'3 junior Wisconsin Dells- A sharpshooter from the outside. When he gets his feet set he's going to knock down the shot. Hit a huge bank in three at the first half buzzer and you knew it was his night.

Tanner Brandt 6'6 junior Wisconsin Dells- I really love this kid. Moves so well for a big kid and has a wide array of moves from 15 feet and in. Question his physicality and his defense but, his offense is a really developed. Hit a pair of 15 foot shots, drove the lane, and showed some nice touch on the hook shot.

Peyton Rohling 6'0 senior Wisconsin Dells- Just a solid point guard. Really leads the team and he did take some questionable shots but, he's the only guy on the Dells that could really create his own shot at least off the dribble.

Reece Leistikow 5'11 junior Marshall- Can tell he's a scorer by the way he plays. High energy kid and force things at times but, on this team he has to.

Adam Wehking 6'5 senior Marshall- You can tell he's a three year starter. Just a calming influence on the court. Seems to always be covering up for team mates on defense around the rim, grabs all the rebounds, scores in the post, if he got better feeds, and has added an outside shot this year.

Box Score
WD 76- Weiss 26 Brandt 19 Rohling 11 Colin Hirst 9 Matt Lutter 7 Jackson Sveum 4 Carter McCloskey 0 Jacob Pakos 0 Chase Slack 0
M 60- Zeistikow 21 Wehking 16 Chadwick 5 Nathan Hatzinger 5 Kelvin Opoku-Appoh 5 Adam Wildman 4 Blake Luzenski 3 Hunter Utz 1

Some final thoughts. Both these teams will probably have pretty good regular seasons and contend for their conference titles but, on the state level neither one will make a dent. Maybe a sectional run depending who they see but, not past that. Dells has a pretty nice starting five but, nothing off the bench so they could hurt them a bit and Marshall really only has three guys that are looking to score. So for both teams depth will be a concern.