The Minnewaska boys visited Long Prairie Monday and could not have tuned up any better for the post-season.
Indeed the Lakers shot out to a 37-11 advantage by halftime and prevailed in the end 56-36. Thoughts are now focused on post-season play. It was a non-conference contest. The success lifted the Lakers' record to 18-6.
Grant Jensen led the pack in scoring for 'Waska with his 16 points. Peyton Johnsrud came through with 12. Also contributing were Brady Hoffman (6), Aaron VerSteeg (5), Connor Johnsrud (4), Damon Uhde (4), Mitchel Gruber (3), Jaden Stewart (3), Mason Stewart (2) and Luke Barkeim (1).
Peyton Johnsrud connected twice for 3-pointers while Gruber and Jaden Stewart each had one make. Sam Hested and VerSteeg each had five rebounds. Jensen with his five assists topped that category. He was also tops in steals with eight. Peyton Johnsrud blocked two shots.
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle's Christian Bearson made two 3-point shots and Lance Larson made one.
Playoffs begin Saturday
Minnewaska should feel primed what with having the No. 1 seed for Section 3AA-North. They'll debut in sub-section on Saturday against winless Montevideo. Obviously that game will be at 'Waska. The Tigers of MACA are seeded second and will play New London-Spicer. Other quarter-final games will have Redwood Valley vs. ACGC and Benson vs. Paynesville.
The 3AA-North semis are set for Thursday, March 5.
Lakers 63, ACGC 59
Minnewaska's 17th win was hard-earned. The winning Lakers were up against an ACGC team that proved stubborn. The ACGC Falcons are having a below-.500 season. But those Falcons fought to a ten-point lead by halftime, 30-20. The Lakers then woke up. They turned on the jets to outscore the Falcons 43-29 the rest of the way. So the outcome was a 63-59 Laker win at Grove City on Friday, Feb. 21.
The Lakers are seeking maximum confidence for what they hope will be a lengthy playoff run. They have beaten the top-ranked team in state. They came out of Friday with a 17-6 record. The ACGC numbers are 11-14. 'Waska's win was their eighth over a stretch of nine games. It was their fifth straight win.
There were three big guns propelling the Lakers: Grant Jensen and Aaron VerSteeg each with 18 points and Peyton Johnsrud with 12. Luke Barkeim scored seven followed by Sam Hested (3), Damon Uhde (3) and Drew Nelson (2). VerSteeg sent the ball through the twine twice from 3-point range. Johnsrud and Hested each made one '3'.
VerSteeg also topped rebounding with his eleven. Jensen set the pace in assists with four and in steals with four. Brady Hoffman blocked two shots.
ACGC had an iron man group of five do all the scoring. Dawson Miller scored 17 while Shelby Shoen and Braeden Pickle each put in 15. Then we see Steven Lawver with eight points and Josh Kinzler with four. Shoen made two 3-pointers and Pickle made one. Rebound leaders were Miller and Lawver with eight and six respectively. Assist leaders were Lawver and Kinzler with five and four respectively. Pickle and Kinzler each had four steals. Kinzler blocked two shots.
Girls: Lakers 51, Montevideo 47
The 'Waska girls reached regular season's end on Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a game versus Montevideo. Lakers fans gathered at the home court. They cheered in robust fashion when the two halves were completed, their team up 51-47 over the T-Hawks. The success put 'Waska's record at .500 with 12-12 numbers. Monte has had its struggles this season.
The game had a steady complexion as 'Waska led by three at halftime. Offensive rebounds were a big plus leading to the winning outcome. The plus helped compensate for cool shooting. The Lakers had significantly more shot tries than Monte, thanks to cleaning up on the boards. So it didn't matter that Monte had a good night shooting 3's with 7/14 numbers.
Emma Thorfinnson supplied key offensive fuel in the win: 13 points with several from the freethrow line. 'Waska finished .500 in conference too, at 7-7.
But girls end season
The satisfaction for Laker fans proved short-lived, alas. On February 22 the Lakers embarked on post-season play and their post-season ended up minimal. Their one game ended in a heartbreaking loss to Benson. The score at Benson was 39-38.
The teams were quite familiar with each other. They split their regular season contests. 'Waska was seeded fifth for Section 3AA-North play. The Benson position: fourth.
Things began on an encouraging note for the optimistic Lakers. They gained the early lead 7-2. Hannah Hoffmann hit a 3-pointer. But Benson got in the groove for what turned out to be a decisive 14-2 run. It was a costly six minutes for Minnewaska. Benson got up 26-14 as halftime neared. But Emma Thorfinnson answered with two 3-pointers in what remained of the half. The second of those was at the buzzer. So the Lakers got within seven.
The Lakers really bore down defensively in the second half. Benson went through a drought. Oh, but the 'Waska offense did its share of sputtering too. Opportunity lost for the Lakers. It seemed anybody's ballgame midway in the half. Benson showed poise at the freethrow line in front of their home fans. Freethrows built up their lead to six points, 39-33. Fifty-four seconds left to play.
Maddie Thorfinnson connected for the never-say-day Lakers. A dramatic '3' by Hannah Hoffmann pulled the Lakers to within a point. A last-gasp three-point try by the Lakers was no-go, thus the Benson Braves could celebrate a hard-earned win, 39-38.
The Thorfinnson girls topped 'Waska's scoring, Maddie T. with 13 points and Emma T. with 12. Hoffmann came through with ten. Five Laker seniors played their final game: Michele Stai, Hoffmann, Alexis Piekarski, Emma T. and Elizabeth Murken.
Wrestling in spotlight
Five members of the high-flying 'Waska wrestling unit have made the grade for state. Congrats to these Lakers: Easton McCrory (126), Tyson Meyer (170), Tyler VanLuik (195), Dylan Jergenson (220) and Jakob Swalla (285). All five were champions in the Section 5A meet in Long Prairie.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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