Oh no! The MACA boys have been pushed to the end of post-season play. There was no repeat of the explosive offense the Tigers exhibited against ACGC. The Tigers' second post-season game had them matched against rival Minnewaska Area. The site was an unusual one for our post-season games: Willmar.
Had we won, we would have moved on to the very familiar court at Southwest State U, Marshall. And for much of Thursday's game against the Lakers, prospects for victory looked very good. I listened to the broadcast via live stream on my new laptop. It seemed we were en route to victory in the second half. I switched away, thinking things were in hand. I knew there was an outside chance for things to go south. Upon entering DeToy's Restaurant this morning, I got the surprising news that we headed south indeed and ended up losing to the Lakers.
Oh no! The season is done prematurely, in the view I'm sure of Tiger fans, and we're on the sidelines with the girls team. The girls lost in the first round of play. One consequence of these early exits is a very long break between the winter and spring seasons. It's hard to think of spring sports now. The break will be so long, maybe the athletes will develop different habits and not see sports as being so essential. I wouldn't blame them.
Had I stuck with the Thursday radio broadcast, I would have listened into overtime. Overtime was a disaster for our Tigers as we scored zero points. We fell in the 58-51 final. This was after we'd held the lead for the vast majority of the game.
Garrett Jensen of the Lakers did much to keep his team in position to win. Jensen is one of three seniors who have been at the fore of the 'Waska effort. He's joined by Matthew Gruber and Jackson Johnsrud. Jensen was truly at the fore Thursday with 27 points, the game-high figure. His layup with 25 seconds left in regulation tied the score. "He's the type of guy you want in your foxhole," coach Phil Johnsrud was quoted saying of Jensen. (I'm not real fond of war analogies for sports.)
We need to credit the 'Waska defense in a big way. Indeed the Lakers applied the clamps, limiting the Tigers to seven points over the last 5:15 and overtime. Meanwhile the Lakers surged to score 21 points. I missed all that in my radio listening. OT saw the MACA offense virtually die.
The first half story had Camden Arndt looking good for the orange and black as he put in ten points, helping us assume a 25-22 lead. He scored ten of our first 17 points but slowed in the second half. His game total was 14. Jackson Loge came on strong for second half play, scoring ten of his team-best 18 over that period.
'Waska coach Johnsrud praised his junior guard Ryan Amundson for coming off the bench to inject some valuable sheer energy.
So now the Lakers and not the Tigers will make the trip to Marshall for the 8 p.m. game on Saturday. Again coach Johnsrud will be depending on that triumvirate of seniors in a big way. The Lakers will play New London-Spicer. Johnsrud described his team as "a big family." Based on W/L records, Thursday's outcome really was not surprising. By beating MACA, 'Waska owns a 19-7 record. And let's not forget the Lakers beat MACA twice in the regular season. The Tigers end the season with a record of 13-14.
Our three double figures scorers Thursday were Loge (18), Arndt (14) and Jaret Johnson (12). Just five Tigers scored points. Connor Koebernick scored four points and Tate Nelson three. Arndt made two 3-pointers while Nelson and Johnson each made one.
Loge was a monster for rebounding with his 16 followed by Johnson with five. Koebernick showed deft passing to get six assists. Arndt and Nelson each stole the ball twice.
Jensen's name jumps out at you from the 'Waska scoring list: 27 points. Here's the rest of the list: Matt Gruber (9), Jackson Johnsrud (7), Jaeger Jergenson (6), Grant Jensen (5) and Shawn Carsten (4). Garrett Jensen connected twice from three-point range, while Johnsrud and Gruber each connected once. Garrett Jensen snared nine rebounds. Gruber dished out five assists. Johnsrud stole the ball twice.
Tiger fans can plan different things to do in the evening now. Sigh.
Owls 80, Ashby 54
Section 6A play opened for the Hancock boys on a most upbeat note. How pleasing to see that the Owls' next game will be at our UMM P.E. Center. It seems so logical. So convenient for the Hancock fans. Presumably we'll see plenty of Morris fans turning out at our local facility too. The MACA teams have been eliminated from the post-season. Go Owls!
Special attention will be paid to Noah Kannegiesser, a superstar type of player for coach Cory Bedel's Owls. Kannegiesser scored 34 points and grabbed six rebounds in Thursday's 80-54 win over Ashby. It was Hancock's 23rd win of the season. The Owls raced out to a 38-29 halftime lead. The advantage was 42-25 in the second half. The Owls will play at 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Battle Lake at the UMM court.
Bennett Nienhaus scored ten points and Cole Reese put in nine. Daniel Milander and Peyton Rohloff each scored six. Jordan Peterson added five points to the mix and Connor Reese added four. The Schmidgall boys, Mason and Parker, each scored two as did Tyler Timmerman. Kannegiesser brought waves of cheers from the Hancock partisans with his seven 3-pointers! Nienhaus had two long-range makes and Cole Reese had one.
Kannegiesser and Nienhaus each collected six rebounds. Nienhaus and Connor Reese each picked up four assists. Nienhaus led in steals with three.
For Ashby, Dakota Ecker and Scott Johnson each made three 3-pointers. Johnson was team-high in scoring with 19 points. Jaden Norby was No. 2 with his 14 points, and Ecker's point total was nine. Three other Arrows scored: Jacob Rein (6), Noah Johnson (4) and Ashton Ecker (2).
Here's hoping the bleachers will be filled Saturday at our P.E. Center! I can close my eyes and still remember the electric guitar sounds from the late Roger Clarke's son for Hancock! I also remember the giant scissors brought as a prop for Hancock to taunt Morris. Did someone need a haircut? These memories need to be preserved.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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