Tigers succumb to #1-ranked BOLD at the end, 75-72

Quite the atmosphere Friday night at the Morris Area High gym. We're into February when prep sports does so much helping us cope with the extended nature of winter. On Friday the fans were treated to a barnburner, indeed. Our orange and black was up against the top-ranked team in the state! Yes, the BOLD Warriors.
The Tigers summoned a terrific challenge vs. the vaunted Warriors. BOLD had to escape with a win by the thin margin of three points. The final score was 75-72. BOLD escaped with a W/L record of 19-0. The MACA record: 9-6. BOLD led 40-36 at halftime. The second half was a stalemate.
Today's (Saturday) coverage in the West Central Tribune does not tell us about dramatics at the end of the game. I heard some talk about the dramatics at DeToy's Restaurant where I had breakfast. So I consulted with the KMRS/KKOK site and was able to learn something. The very nice review there confirms what I heard at the restaurant. There was a '3' at the end that gave BOLD the margin of victory. Jordan Sagedahl provided those dramatics for the talented BOLD crew.
Jordan sank a three-pointer with just 3.5 seconds showing on the clock. Hence, the three-point margin which gave BOLD its 19th victory. There are other dramatics we can learn from the radio station site, not in the Willmar paper. Like, the Tigers wiping out a 15-point second half deficit. Our surging got the score tied at 72 with 12 seconds showing. It was up to Sagedahl to connect from long-range at the very end. The Tigers let loose with a heave on the inbounds play. But it was Sagedahl who picked off the pass. The Warriors could breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate.
Fans saw the orange and black leading for much of the first half. The score stood 31-27 when BOLD finally got untracked to turn the tables some. So BOLD got its four-point lead at the halfway mark. And BOLD kept on showing superior play into the second half. BOLD lifted its lead to 15. Then the Tigers righted their ship to make a statement the rest of the way. It was anybody's ballgame at the end. Sagedahl settled the issue.
Jackson Loge was again a prime contributor for us: eleven field goals in 18 attempts and 26 points. Durgin Decker was seven of 13 in field goals and put up 16 points. Thomas Tiernan made six field goals in ten shots and had 13 points. Jaden Maanum scored ten while making half his shots. Cameron Koebernick had four points, Cade Fehr had two and Toby Gonnerman one. Our sophomores continued showing substantial punch. Decker, Tiernan and Loge are sophomores.
Let's take a look at 3's where Maanum made two in five tries. Loge made two 3's in five attempts. Decker and Tiernan each made one '3'. As a team we were six of 21 in 3's for 29 percent. Our total field goal numbers were 31-for-58, 53 percent. Our freethrows were few and far between but we made four of our five tries. Loge made two freethrows and Decker and Gonnerman one each.
Loge wrapped up 12 of our 26 rebounds. Maanum and Gonnerman each had four boards. Brandon Jergenson was the standout in assists with seven while Loge had six. Decker added four assists to the mix. Four Tigers each had one steal: Decker, Jergenson, Tiernan and Gonnerman. The stats show just one Tiger with blocked shots and this was Loge with six.

Sagedahl may have been the hero at the end but it was Gavin Vosika, senior guard, who led the Warriors in scoring with 33 points on 15-for-22 in shooting. There's more than one Sagedahl in the BOLD mix, and it was junior forward Drew who was second high in scoring: 19 points. Jordan is a senior forward and his scoring stat was 13 points.
BOLD had just five players in the scoring column. So let's cite Matt Moorse with his six points and Blake Plass with four. Moorse made noise with his two 3-pointers. His mates Drew Sagedahl and Vosika each made two long-rangers also. And of course we have Jordan with the biggest '3' of all. BOLD's rebound leaders were Drew Sagedahl (10), Vosika (6), Jordan Sagedahl (6) and Plass (5). Vosika had eight assists followed by Drew Sagedahl with four and Plass with three. Moorse was tops in steals with five.

Re-write textbooks?
Based on action by Republicans in the U.S. Senate, we might be said to be living under a different form of government now. Don't sweat it, it's not unprecedented. Monarchies have existed and thrived over time. Is that what we really want? Well, maybe it is. We have decided through our voting that Republicans should have a slight majority in the U.S. Senate. And it's Republicans who have decided to now toss out the rule of law and declare a monarchy in America.
We are now living under "King" Trump. My own personal opinion is contrary to this but it appears now that people like me have slipped into the minority, albeit by a very small margin. But we are the minority and maybe it's time we just recognize that the GOP has won, period. So let's just move forward with our new monarchy-based government, and seek happiness the best we can.
A final thought: Why does Alan Dershowitz have to appear on TV? Where is it written that this person has to get so much attention? Half the people with whom I talk at McDonald's have more intelligence than he does.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com