The road ended Thursday night. The 'Waska Lakers met Breckenridge in the state consolation semi-finals. The site was the Concordia-St. Paul court, home of the Comets.
Fans here in Morris might suggest that 'Waska was playing a little over their heads in state. After all, our MACA Tigers could taste victory in the second half of a post-season game versus the Lakers. Our Tigers were a pretty ordinary team. We saw that game slip away to a very opportunistic 'Waska team. Opportunism should be rewarded. 'Waska showed that magic again as they advanced further. Finally those Lakers could relish that state glow, and no one could suggest they didn't deserve it. But their luster dimmed as the state action got underway, first in a game vs. Caledonia in which the wheels came off in the second half.
The game against Breckenridge had a similar pattern: fading in the second half. The Cowboys of Breck presided over the Lakers 72-42 Thursday night. The Lakers end their season with a W/L of 21-9. Breck advances with 26-6 numbers. Breck was the prime district-level rival for our Tigers back in my younger years. We all remember the coach whose last name was Lipp. We remember that green color of the Breck team and crowd. It seemed we lost to them too often.
Breck led the Lakers 36-24 at halftime. The green team punched on the accelerator the rest of the way, outscoring 'Waska 36-18. Breckenridge plays Esko for fifth place in a game set to start a couple hours from when I'm writing this (Friday).
Dahlgren shows precise shooting eye
Derek Dahlgren was a big force for the green team on Thursday. Dahlgren made four 3-pointers. He led a real barrage of 3-pointer success by Breck, spread out among several players. Hunter Feigum made two shots from beyond the stripe. These Cowboys each made one long-ranger: Andrew Kram, Noah Christiansen, Max Johnson, Jace LeNoue and Copper Yaggie.
Dahlgren with his 3's led the Breck scoring list with 20 points. Christianson was close behind with 18. Feigum put in eight points. ("Feigum" was the name of my kindergarten teacher.)
Max Johnson scored six points and Dawson Peterson put in five. Several Cowboys finished with three points: Kram, Caden McGough, LeNoue and Yaggie. Sam Bakken added two points to the mix. The list wraps up with Michael Randall scoring one.
For the Lakers, Jackson Johnsrud matched Dahlgren's output of 3-pointers, making four. Matt Gruber connected twice from three-point range, and Ryan Amundson made one '3'. Johnsrud and Gruber were the Lakers' double figures scorers with 15 and 10 points respectively. Jack Blevins put in five points. Garrett Jensen and Shawn Carsten each had an output of four. Ryan Amundson scored three points and Grant Jensen one.
Gruber led in rebounds with five. Christianson was the top assist producer with four. Four Lakers each had one steal: Johnsrud, Ryan Christianson, Luke Barkeim and Joe Piekarski.
Congrats to the Lakers on their super 2017-18 season! Enjoy spring. (My late father Ralph was a 1934 graduate of Glenwood High School. He was the youngest of five boys in the family.)
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
Gorgeous place, I just went here with someone. The venues in Chicago were beautiful and spacious, the seats were comfortable and wide. From where I was sitting at least, the views were great. I think the music really did a great job of filling up the space.
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