Phillips boys go 1-1 at regionals

The Phillips High School varsity boys basketball season ended in the second round of regional competition in the Region 4 Interscholastic Athletic Association Tournament.

The Loggers lost 69-42 at Auburndale in the regional semifinal on March 1. The No. 2 seed Auburndale controlled the start and went into halftime with a 40-20 lead. The No. 7 seed Phillips tightened up in the second half and were outscored only 29-22.

Auburndale went on to defeat No. 3 seed Edgar 62-46 in the regional final. The team will face N0. 1 seed Marathon in the sectional in Merrill on March 7.

Phillips won the first round regional game with a 65-60 home win against No. 10 seed Spencer on Feb. 27. Spencer started the game strong until Phillips pushed back and the Loggers led 37-34 at the half. The score was relatively even until late in the game when Phillips pushed the lead to 7 points with free throws in the final minutes.

The Phillips scoring was led by junior guard Lane Abraham with 23 points, followed by senior guard Drew Hauschild with 20, sophomore guard JJ Heikkinen, 7, junior guard Brayden Revak, 6, junior forward Collin Kleinschmidt, 5, and junior forward Shay Denzine, 4.

The Spencer scoring was led by sophomore center Sam Bezlyk with 28, sophomore guard Weston Nieman, 11, sophomore forward Breckin Miller, 6, junior guard Ferran Arenes, 5, senior guard Davide Chemello and senior forward Logan Ehlert, each with 3, and sophomore forward Mathers McHone and junior center Carter Luepke, each with 2.

Phillips ends the season with a 13-13 overall record. The Loggers defeated Spencer 65-60 in the regional opener to reach the semifinals.

The Loggers finished third in the Marawood North Conference standings behind Rib Lake and Prentice with a 6-10 record.