'Waska has its first state berth since 2001. This is the third state tournament appearance as the combined Minnewaska entity. Glenwood High School made the climb in 1956 and 1985. I remember watching the Lakers in state when they had coach Starns.
Maybe the Lakers can catch a break and coast with a lead for a while. It would help their fans relax a little. But those fans are now accustomed to being on edge of seats, watching as their team escapes deficits in a dramatic way. The team certainly did that against Morris Area Chokio Alberta. We've seen second half comebacks in three straight games now. The Lakers did it to New London-Spicer as well as our Tigers, and now we can add Pipestone to the list of the vanquished.
The Lakers defeated Pipestone 56-54 at Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall. My goodness, the Lakers trailed nearly the entire game. I remember listening to the radio for a short time in the second half of the game vs. Morris, and I thought Morris had things pretty well in hand. I shut off the radio and attended to other matters. And then the next morning, making my usual arrival at DeToy's Restaurant, Tom Carrington just made a discouraged expression when I asked him how the game turned out. The message was that things went south for our Tigers. No team can feel confident when owning the lead on the scoreboard vs. the Lakers. Tom Carrington's granddaughter is Maddie Carrington who is a 3-point shooting whiz for the MACA girls team.
Three minutes were left to play in the 'Waska vs. Pipestone game when Shawn Carsten scored for 'Waska to get the score tied. It was 49-all. 'Waska now sought its first lead since the scoreboard showed 9-8 numbers early-on. Garrett Jensen gave 'Waska their much-sought late lead. Garrett was composed at the freethrow line to make two shots. The time remaining is just over two minutes. Matt Gruber and Jackson Johnsrud pushed the lead to 55-51. Now only 19 seconds are left and you can imagine the exhilarated atmosphere among the large Minnewaska fan turnout.
'Waska's Thursday success was in the section finals. The climb to the top of 3AA is done, so now all eyes turn to the prestigious state level. We learn that prior to Thursday's game, the Lakers led for fewer than ten minutes throughout the playoffs. Let's note that Jackson Johnsrud was at the fore keeping 'Waska's attack stable in the first half, in which he scored 14 points. 'Waska trailed Pipestone by four at halftime, 29-25.
The Lakers now own an overall season record of 21-7. Pipestone ends its season with a 19-11 mark.
Johnsrud topped the scoring vs. Pipestone with his 25 total points. The other double figures achiever was Matt Gruber with ten. Here's the rest of the list: Shawn Carsten (7), Garrett Jensen (6), Grant Jensen (4) and Luke Barkeim (4). 'Waska needed every point, so it was important that Johnsrud connected three times from 3-point range. Gruber made two 3's and Grant Jensen made one.
The rebound leaders were Garrett Jensen (8), Gruber (7) and Johnsrud (5). The assist leaders were Gruber and Garrett Jensen with five and four respectively. Grant Jensen and Gruber each had two steals.
My friend Randy Olson typed some informative paragraphs about the game on his blog which emphasizes BBE sports. Randy covers a wider geographic area for post-season, just like my blog does. Randy is the enterprising owner of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten. He's a very fired-up newspaper operator in outstate Minnesota. He definitely is doing more than just "holding on" in this age of general newspaper decline (according to popular perception). Our Morris newspaper is 100 percent in the "holding on" mode.
We have a chain paper here in Morris. We'd be fortunate having someone like Randy or the Elbow Lake newspaper people. But we don't. Things don't always go our way, just like they didn't go our way in the MACA vs. 'Waska basketball game. Nor did things go our way when Maddie Carrington and her Tiger mates lost in the first round of post-season.
I'm pleased to share what Randy wrote on his "Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa Jaguar sports" blog:
In the Section 3AA boys basketball championship game in Marshall, the Minnewaska Area Lakers trailed 29-25 to Pipestone Area at halftime. . .but late in the final minute the Lakers pulled ahead 51-49. Senior Matt Gruber was fouled with about 45 seconds left for a bonus opportunity. He made the first one, then made the bonus to make it a 53-49 game. The Arrows actually fouled him seven seconds earlier, but the referees didn't call it right away.
Pipestone Area then went to the freethrow line with 38.8 seconds left and got a bonus opportunity. They made both, making it a 53-51 game.
Then with 36.2 seconds left, senior Jackson Johnsrud was fouled and hit the front end of a bonus opportunity. He made the second one for a 55-51 lead. The Arrows missed on their next possession, but then with 19.6 seconds left, the Lakers threw the ball away. Pipestone Area then dilly-dallied after a timeout! Crazy! They literally walked the ball up the court, trailing by four points. . .and with five seconds left after missing on a shot, they fouled Grant Jensen. He made the front end of a bonus shot for a five-point lead. Jensen's second freethrow was no good, and the Arrows called their last remaining timeout with 4.2 seconds left.
The Arrows made a three-point shot as the final seconds ticked off. . .it was meaningless! (Nice effort, but it didn't matter!)
Minnewaska Area (21-7 overall) advances to the Class 2A state tournament, which opens next Wednesday in Minneapolis. I believe that Minnewaska Area hasn't played in the state tournament since 2001. In 2003, they lost 63-37 to Pipestone Area in the Section 3AA championship game. They went 15 years without playing in a section title game.
Final score: Minnewaska Area 56, Pipestone Area 54. The Lakers went 12-of-18 at the freethrow line in the game and overcame 14 turnovers. A fun sidebar: the Lakers are also the Section 3AA academic champions.
Fun fact: Grant Jensen's dad is Eric Jensen, a 1987 graduate of Brooten who played for the Buccaneers boys basketball team. As a senior in the 1986-87 season, Eric's Buccaneers team went 12-1 in the Prairie Conference to win the title under the head coaching of Brad Goodwin.
Thanks Randy for the interesting background.
Fans might be tempted to think that 'Waska is "lucky" getting so far, as if the prospects might not be good for state. Hooey. Often we see teams dodge bullets as the season progresses and the caliber of their play actually seems to get better. The message here is: don't bet against the Lakers against anyone!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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