Wolves move into sub-section title game
Posted 3/13/03

March is tournament time for Minnesotaís high school teams.

And, only the strong survive.

Milacaís boys basketball team turned back a pair of determined foes and was still among the "survivors" after two rounds of the Section 6AA Sub-Section 18 Tournament.

The Wolves, seeded No. 2 in the tourney, topped seventh-seeded Pierz 73-62 in the quarter-finals Thursday, March 6, at Milaca. Milaca then stopped sixth-seeded Pine City 62-43 in the semifinals Saturday at Mora in a game that was much closer than the final score.

Those wins moved Milaca into the Sub-Section 18 championship game Tuesday night against fourth-seeded Foley at Mora. The Falcons reached the title game by tipping fifth-seeded Mora 49-48 in the quarterfinals before topping No. 1-seeded Hinckley-Finlayson 74-64 in the semifinals Saturday night at Mora.

"Weíre very happy with the way we played against Pierz and Pine City," said Milaca Coach Jeff Meyer. "We beat two teams that had improved a great deal over the final weeks of the season. Both made good efforts to knock us off.

"After the Pine City game I told our players that they should feel proud of their play so far in the tournament, perhaps a little nervous about whatís ahead and confident they can handle any situation."

Milaca defeated Foley twice during the regular season, winning 63-60 at Foley and 73-59 at Milaca.

Milaca took an 18-6 record into Tuesdayís game while Foley was 17-10.

"Our teams mirror each other in many ways," said Meyer, on the eve of Tuesdayís game. "And, we know each other very well. The team that executes the best will be the winner."

The Milaca-Foley winner advances to the Section 6AA championship game Friday at 8:15 p.m. at St. Cloud State Universityís Halenbeck Hall against either Sauk Centre or Melrose. Sauk Centre and Melrose were scheduled to meet for the Sub-Section 19 title Tuesday.

Milaca 73, Pierz 62

The Pioneers elected to try to bottle up Milacaís inside game with a 2-3 zone defense and take their chances with the Wolvesí outside shooting.

And, that strategy kept Pierz close through most of the game.

Sophomore guard Adam Ruisí three-point basket gave the Wolves a 12-3 lead midway through the opening quarter before Pierz cut the margin to 14-11 heading into the second quarter. A three-point basket by junior guard Dan Kimman on a shot that covered three-fourths the length of the floor just ahead of the buzzer accounted for the Pioneersí final three points.

The teams traded baskets through most of the second quarter, with senior forward Mark Poeppingís scoring drive cutting Milacaís lead to 30-27 with 52 seconds left in the half.

A reverse layup by senior forward Jon Matthews and a three-pointer at the buzzer by sophomore guard Jon Moorlag boosted the Wolves to a 35-27 halftime margin.

A three-point play by Matthews early in the third quarter gave the Wolves a 38-27 lead and a pair of three-pointers and a layup by senior guard Tim Veurink pushed Milaca to a 46-33 edge with 4:40 left in the quarter.

Another three-pointer by Veurink and a layup by Moorlag following his steal gave Milaca a 51-33 lead with 2:14 remaining in the quarter.

However, the Pioneers closed the quarter with five-straight points, cutting Milacaís lead to 55-41 heading into the fourth quarter.

Milaca moved to a 61-43 lead on senior center Eric Bergstromís short jump shot with 6:10 left in the game but the Pioneers chipped away and eventually closed the gap to 68-60 with 48 seconds left.

Three free throws by Moorlag and a free throw by Ruis kept Pierz from getting any closer.

"We played very well and did what we wanted to do," said Pierz Coach Dean Dahmen, a Pierz graduate. "We just came up a little short.

"We wanted to keep Bergstrom from having a big game and I felt we did that. But, they offset that by hitting shots from the outside."

Veurink, who sank four three-pointers, led the Wolves with 21 points and nine assists. Matthews, who hit a pair of three-pointers, had 15 points ane eight rebounds while Moorlag and Ruis each scored 11 points and Bergstrom had eight points and five rebounds.

Milaca shot 45.5 percent (20-for-44) from the field while Pierz shot 41.8 (23-55) percent. The Wolves were 25-35 from the free-throw line while Pierz was 12-21.

Both teams had 32 rebounds.

Poepping led the Pioneers with 17 points and eight rebounds while Kimman had 12 points.

Pierz finished with a 6-17 record.

Milaca 62, Pine City 43

Pine City had reached the semifinals by stunning third-seeded and defending Sub-Section 18 champion Braham 77-72 in overtime in the quarter-finals.

And, for three quarters the Dragons showed they were capable of playing with anyone in the sub-section.

Milaca, with Matthews scoring nine points, led 11-5 after the first quarter. However, Pine City rallied and eventually tied the score at 17-17 on a basket by 6-foot-7 senior center Tyler Hawkinson with 46 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Wolves used those closing seconds well and moved to a 22-17 halftime lead on a pair of free throws by Matthews, a basket by Bergstrom and a free throw by Ruis.

Back-to-back thee-pointers by senior guard Austin Newman and junior forward Jesse Rubbelke gave the Dragons a 23-22 lead early in the third quarter. The teams deadlocked at 28-28 and 33-33 before Bergstromís short jumper gave Milaca a 35-33 edge heading into the fourth quarter.

Matthews ignited an explosive fourth quarter for the Wolves with a three-pointer and a scoring drive, putting Milaca ahead 40-33.

A dunk by Bergstrom made it 45-35 with 4:30 remaining and the Wolves were on a roll.

Two fast-break baskets by Moorlag and a pair of baskets by senior center Dustin Naumann pulled the Wolves to their final 62-43 margin.

"It was tough," said Meyer. "It was a great one to win--both teams had great crowd support and both teams gave it all they could."

"We were happy with our effort and showing in the tournament," said Eric Wicktor, who completed his first season as Pine City head coach. "We played Milaca tough for over three quarters. We had a couple of possessions where we didnít score early in the fourth quarter and they were able to pull away. We had played so hard over the first three quarters that we didnít have much energy left at the end.

"Great teams will be there when the game is decided in the fourth quarter and Milaca was there."

Matthews, who was 7-9 from the field, led Milaca with 18 points while Bergstrom scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots. Ruis added 10 points and five assists and Moorlag scored eight points.

Milaca shot 44.9 percent (22-49) while Pine City shot 36.4 percent (16-44).

The Wolves had a 29-19 edge in rebounds and a 15-4 edge at the foul line.

Rubbelke led Pine City with 13 points while Newman scored 12 and Hawkinson had 10.

The Dragons finished with a 10-18 record.