Icewater in his veins: that describes the Minnewaska Area Lakers' Grant Jensen. It's certainly the quality he showed in the closing moments of the 3AA-North boys hoops title game. This is the sub-section. (The terminology can get confusing, yes even for an experienced media person.)
Laker Jensen made a couple freethrow shots that will be preserved in fans' memory for a long time. It was like the concluding scene of a heroic sports movie (but maybe not "Teen Wolf").
Action was on Saturday.
Jensen hadn't made much of a mark up until the fateful last moments. He got held back by foul trouble. His Lakers were battling the Cardinals of Redwood Valley in Marshall. The venue was at Southwest State University. The gym is part of something called the "R/A Facility." Not sure what "R/A" stands for.
Redwood had climbed with a one-point win over the MACA Tigers. Redwood had the No. 3 seed so they upset the No. 2 Tigers. And the Lakers? They were seeded at the top. But they had to work very hard to live up to that status and take the crown. Take the crown they did, as Jensen's poised stance at the line put them over the top in the waning moments. So the Lakers and fans are bathing in the satisfaction of the 51-50 win over Redwood.
What a finish! Jensen is a senior guard under coach Phil Johnsrud. Just 2.8 seconds were left to play when Jensen calmly readied for his freethrow attempts. It all came down to this. And Jensen made two freethrows. Verdict decided. Fans were ebullient. More action to come. The Lakers are now readying for their second 3AA title game in three years.
Next challenge will be Thursday
All the 3AA marbles will be on the table when Jensen and his mates take to the court to face Jackson County Central, yes those boys from the south. Game-time is 8 p.m. Thursday in Marshall. Whoa Nellie! (Keith Jackson RIP)
Johnsrud lauded his cagers on their sheer resilience.
Let's rewind a little: the clock shows 7.9 seconds left when Redwood nervously sat with a 50-49 lead. Johnsrud wanted a timeout. Refs judged a five-second violation, but had to confer to see if the coach's timeout signal negated that. It did! Boy, what a stroke of fate. This was 'Waska's last timeout. The Cardinals had two fouls to give. They committed one with six seconds remaining.
Jensen drove to the basket with the knowledge that the foe had another foul to give. Serendipity comes into the picture. Yes there was a foul but the timing of the whistle was paramount. Man, I wouldn't have the stomach to be a coach - all these weird little twists. I'd have to take pills. The drama must be in their system. The ref in this instance blasted his whistle at the point where Jensen was in the act of shooting.
Redwood Valley's coach is Aaron Lindahl. He bemoaned how those final moments went down, but was not pointing fingers. He suggested the foul might have been before the shot. But he admitted in quotes to the media "maybe not." Spoken like a gentleman coach.
What it all came down to
Fans sat at rapt attention - what March Madness is all about - as Jensen made his first freethrow. Whew! Score tied. But could the senior guard put 'Waska over the top?
Lindahl calls a timeout. Might this distract the Laker in the spotlight, get him ruffled, make him think too much? Lindahl's effort to "ice" Jensen was no-go. The Laker put in his second shot. No need for me here as a writer to describe the kind of reaction that was seen and heard at the SSU gym.
Even the first half had a dramatic air. Redwood seemed in pretty good shape through the first. They led continually but a '3' at the buzzer by Laker Luke Barkeim (yes, no "h" in the last name) put his team up 23-21 for the break. The Lakers had to overcome Redwood Valley's size strong suit in the frontcourt. This was futile at times as the Cardinals were blocking shots.
Turnovers cropped up for the Lakers. These truly threatened their winning bid. The Lakers trailed by four, 50-46, after Cardinal Alex Lang made two freethrows. Lang would lead his team with 16 points on the night. Redwood Valley went cold over the final three minutes. Johnsrud called a timeout with just under a minute left.
A very key shot followed: It came on a play designed for Peyton Johnsrud. Peyton is a junior guard and at this pivotal point he nailed a really essential 3-pointer from the corner. It put the Lakers within one. Peyton had 12 points on the night.
Aaron VerSteeg led the Lakers in scoring with the rather modest 13 points. But Aaron won major plaudits defensively. It was up to him to deflect a heave or "baseball pass" by the Cardinals at the end. Redwood got a shot off but it wasn't close.
Barkeim finished with eleven points. Jensen, Sam Hested and Brady Hoffman each scored five. Four different Lakers each made a 3-pointer: Johnsrud, Jensen, Hested and Barkeim. VerSteeg topped rebounding with seven. His two assists were also tops. Johnsrud had two steals and Hested blocked two shots.
Lang with his 16 points led Redwood Valley. He was joined in double figures by Carson Woodford with 13 points and Connor Josephson with ten. Others scoring: Carter Guetter (6), Zack Paulsen-Reck (3) and Bryant Haas (2). Lang made three 3-pointers and Paulsen-Reck made one.
Will the Lakers be celebrating a section title too? It's fun to anticipate. I hope MACA Tigers fans are on the 'Waska bandwagon too. Yours truly enjoys covering Minnewaska Area hoops and wrestling. My late father Ralph was a 1934 graduate of Glenwood High School. Those were John Dillinger days.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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