State tournament

Menahga's girls' basketball team lost 74-69 to Minneota in today's quarterfinal round game this afternoon in Minneapolis.

In the Section 3AA boys' basketball championship game in Marshall, the Minnewaska Area Lakers trailed 29-25 to Pipestone Area at halftime ... but late in the final minute the Lakers pulled ahead 51-49.

Senior Matt Gruber was fouled with about 45 seconds left for a bonus opportunity. He made the first one, then made the bonus to make it a 53-49 game. The Arrows actually fouled him seven seconds earlier, but the referees didn't call it right away.

Pipestone Area then went to the free throw line with 38.8 seconds left and got a bonus opportunity. They made both, making it a 53-51 game.

Then with 36.2 seconds left, senior Jackson Johnsrud was fouled and hit the front end of a bonus opportunity. He made the second one for a 55-51 lead. The Arrows missed on their next possession, but then with 19.6 seconds left, the Lakers threw the ball away.

Pipestone Area then dilly-dallied after a timeout! Crazy! They literally walked the ball up the court, trailing by four points...and with five seconds left after missing on a shot, they fouled Grant Jensen. He made the front end of a bonus shot for a five-point lead. Jensen's second free throw was no good, and the Arrows called their last remaining timeout with 4.2 seconds left.

The Arrows made a three-point shot as the final seconds ticked off...it was meaningless! (Nice effort, but it didn't matter!) Minnewaska Area (21-7 overall) advances to the Class 2A state tournament, which opens next Wednesday in Minneapolis. I believe that Minnewaska Area hasn't played in the state tournament since 2001. In 2003, they lost 63-37 to Pipestone Area in the Section 3AA championship game. They went 15 years without playing in a section title game.

Final score: Minnewaska Area 56, Pipestone Area 54. The Lakers went 12-of-18 at the free throw line in the game and overcame 14 turnovers. A fun sidebar: the Lakers are also the Section 3AA academic champions.

Fun fact: Grant Jensen's dad is Eric Jensen, a 1987 graduate of Brooten who played for the Buccaneers boys' basketball team. As a senior in the 1986-87 season, Eric's Buccaneers team went 12-1 in the Prairie Conference to win the title under the head coaching of Brad Goodwin.

...in Section 6AA, Eden Valley-Watkins' boys' basketball team beat Pine City 50-42 in the sub-section championship game last night. They face St. Cloud Cathedral in the section title game on Friday night this week at SCSU at 6 p.m. Earlier in the postseason, EV-W vanquished the Central Minnesota Conference champions, Maple Lake, by a 39-37 score in the semifinals. EV-W, winners of 11 games in a row, finished one game out of first place in the CMC (12-2) to Maple Lake's 13-1 record.

...in the Section 5AAA boys' basketball finals, Willmar got mauled by Delano in a 75-54 loss. The Cardinals finish the year 26-3.