Wausau Pilot & Review
WAUSAU – The No. 1 seed Wausau East boys basketball team started slow but came out of halftime on fire and defeated No. 8 Merrill 60-52 in a WIAA Division 2 regional semifinal Friday night at East High School.
The Lumberjacks trailed 22-18 at halftime before putting up 42 points in the second half to run away with the win.
Wausau East (18-7) will host No. 4 seed Rice Lake (15-10) in a D-2 regional final on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Jesse Napgezek scored 23 points, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, and Charlie Cayley had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Lumberjacks.
Merrill finishes its season with an 8-18 record.
Lumberjacks 60, Bluejays 52
Merrill 22 30 – 52
Wausau East 18 42 – 60
MERRILL (52): Statistics not reported. Record: 8-18.
WAUSAU EAST (60): Caden Werth 2-5 3-4 8, Jaydan Garrett 2-7 2-2 7, Jesse Napgezek 8-8 6-9 23, Isaac Rozwadowski 2-5 2-2 6, Jack Barthels 2-4 0-0 5, Charlie Cayley 3-8 5-6 11. FG: 19-37. FT: 18-23. 3-pointers: 4-12 (Napgezek 1-1, Garrett 1-3, Barthels 1-3, Werth 1-4, Rozwadowski 0-1). Rebounds: 22 (Cayley 11). Record: 18-7.
