Newman and Auburndale boys’ basketball advance to sectional finals

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Entering Thursday, eight area boys’ basketball teams were left standing in the postseason. Following Thursday night’s action, Newman and Auburndale will be the two schools playing for a trip to state Saturday.

First, in Wausau, the Newman Cardinals and Pacelli Cardinals met in D5. The two sides both came into the night riding hot as each team had won every game of the tournament to this point by double digits. However, it’d be Newman’s Cardinals that would keep that streak going. A strong first half helped Newman soar past Pacelli by a score of 79-58. Newman will now play in the sectional finals for the first time since 2014. They’ll face eight-seed Gibraltar who topped two-seed Three Lakes 60-44 Thursday. The game will be played Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at Rhinelander High School. Elsewhere in D5, 11-seed Thorp’s incredible run came to an end as they fell to McDonell Catholic 52-31.

In Division 4, a Marawood South rivalry was renewed as two-seed Auburndale met top-seed Marathon for the third time this season in Marshfield. For the Eagles, the third time was the charm. Auburndale outscored Marathon by 19 in the second half to win 55-47. The Eagles move on to the sectional finals for the first time since 2015. They’ll face one-seed Saint Mary Catholic Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at Appleton East High School.

In Division 2, a pair of GNC schools were left standing. However, neither Medford nor Mosinee could advance Thursday. Medford fell as the one-seed to three-seed La Crosse Central 57-41 in a rematch from earlier in the season, a game the Riverhawks won as well. As for Mosinee, they lost as the three-seed in a tight battle with four-seed New London 61-57 as the Bulldogs hit a couple of big shots down the stretch.

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