Wolves lose to eventual state champion

By GARY LARSON
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 3/27/03

"We lost to the best," said Milaca Coach Jeff Meyer, following his team's 62-41 loss to Litchfield in the quarter-finals of the Class AA State Boys Basketball Tournament Tuesday, March 18, at St. Cloud State University's Halenbeck Hall.

"Litchfield was the defending Class AA state champion and they were ranked No. 1 all this season. They proved to us how good they were and they showed it again in the semifinals and finals of the state tournament. They didn't have too much difficulty.

"We played very well against them at times but that doesn't show up in the final score. We got behind by too much, too early and you can't afford to do that against a team as disciplined as Litchfield. They know how to play with a lead and keep it."

Milaca, playing in its first state basketball tournament, fell into an abyss almost immediately, trailing 8-0 less than three minutes into the game. Litchfield expanded its edge to 15-2 heading into the second quarter.

The Wolves made just one of nine attempts from the field (a basket by junior forward Daren Koppendrayer) in the first quarter while the Dragons dominated both ends of the floor.

"We were tight when the game started...the state tournament atmosphere got to us a little," said Meyer. "Our plan was to play as aggressively as we could but after Litchfield blocked our first shot and got a few big rebounds we got too tentative. Litchfield was dictating the pace of the game and we didn't do much in that first quarter to try to change that."

"You always hope your team will get off to a good start and we did," said Litchfield Coach John Carlson. "We knew Milaca was an explosive team so we felt good about how we opened up defensively. We wanted to control the inside and pressure their shots, which we did. And, it was a good quarter offensively for us, too."

Milaca nearly matched the Dragons on offense in the second quarter behind a pair of three-pointers by senior forward Jon Matthews and senior center Eric Bergstrom's three baskets.

Litchfield outscored Milaca 19-14 in the quarter to boost its halftime margin to 34-16.

Matthews' second three-point basket came on a one-handed 85-foot shot that ripped through the net just ahead of the first-half buzzer. The basket electrified fans on both sides of the court.

"It gave us a boost," said Meyer. "Not so much score wise as that it was a possible sign that things might go our way in the second half."

Litchfield shot an efficient 60 percent (12-of-20) from the field in the first half while Milaca shot 35.3 percent (6-17).

The Dragons scored from the outside, with 6-foot-2 senior guard Hans Hoeg and 6-5 senior forward Terry Euerle each sinking a pair of three-pointers. And, they scored inside as 6-6 senior forward John Carlson (son of the head coach) scored 10 points on rebounds and quick moves to the basket.

Milaca, which trailed 47-28 after three quarters, made its best run right away in the fourth quarter, cutting the margin to 47-36 behind eight-straight points by sophomore guard Jon Moorlag.

Moorlag started his assault with a drive for a score, then added a three-point basket. He was fouled on that shot and sank the free throw for a four-point play. Moorlag then came up with a steal and another layup to slice the deficit to 47-36 with 5:22 left to play.

Litchfield, however, fired back with baskets by 6-10 junior Robert Bruesewitz and Hoeg and eventually outscored the Wolves 15-5 the rest of the way.

"Our whole game picked up over the final three quarters," said Meyer. "We shot better, rebounded better and played better on defense. Our overall game was good enough to beat a lot of teams but not Litchfield."

For the game, Milaca shot 40.5 percent (15-37) while Litchfield shot 47.8 percent (22-46). Milaca made 14 of 28 shots over the final three quarters.

The Wolves made seven of 10 free throws while Litchfield sank 12 of 19.

Litchfield, behind the Notre Dame-bound Carlson, held a 32-20 margin in rebounds. Carlson, a tight end who will play football at Notre Dame, grabbed 15 rebounds, which included 10 off the defensive board.

Bergstrom, who will take his 6-10 frame to Division I Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne next season, led Milaca with 12 points and eight rebounds. Moorlag, who made all five of the shots he took from the field and was 1-1 at the free-throw line, finished with 10 points while Matthews and senior guard Tim Veurink each had six points.

Hoeg led Litchfield with 23 points while Carlson and Euerle each totaled 14. Milaca had 14 turnovers while Litchfield had 10.

"We handled their full-court pressure very well," said Meyer. "Most of our turnovers came after we had beaten their pressure.

"I think the big thing was that they beat us on second-chance rebounding points and loose-ball points. They have a lot of big game, tournament experience and it showed, not only against us but also against the other teams they played in the state tournament."

Litchfield, the Section 5AA champion, topped Zumbrota-Mazeppa of Section 1AA 60-44 in the semifinals Friday at the Target Center in Minneapolis. The Dragons claimed their second straight Class AA crown and third in four seasons by trimming DeLaSalle 51-33 Saturday afternoon. DeLaSalle, the Section 4AA champion, reached the finals by stopping Pipestone (Section 3AA) 52-50 in the quarter-finals and Esko (Section 7AA) 47-38 in the semifinals.

Litchfield finished with a 30-2 record. Milaca, which won the Sub-Section 18 and Section 6AA crowns, ended with a 20-7 record in Meyer's fourth season as head coach.

Tournament notes *Playing the quarter-final games of the state basketball tournaments at mainly out-state sites has drawn much criticism because many felt the games lacked the atmosphere of a state tournament.

Meyer felt there was no lack of that atmosphere at Halenbeck Hall where the Wolves and Dragons played in front of 3100 fans.

"It felt like the state tournament to me and I think it did for our players, too," he said. "I think our great fans had a lot to do with that. Seeing all those Milaca fans there and having them cheer hard for us right to the end was something special we'll remember for a long time."

All state tournament games will be held in the Twin Cities next season.

*Meyer felt Milaca would've matched up with some of the other state tournament teams well and not so well with others. "We would've had good match-ups with Esko but not so good against DeLaSalle," he said. "No one matched up with Litchfield very well."

*Minneapolis North won the Class AAAA title, tipping Osseo 82-73 in double overtime. Minneapolis Patrick Henry trimmed former Rum River Conference member Sauk Rapids 69-55 in the Class AAA championship game and Mankato Loyola capped a perfect season (32-0) by stopping Ellsworth 65-55 in the Class A title game.

Litchfield topped Patrick Henry 66-46 during the regular season. Who beat Litchfield this season? Bloomington Jefferson topped the Dragons 45-38 and Hickman of Columbia, Mo., posted a 47-46 win. Litchfield posted a 73-68 win over Sauk Rapids.

*Litchfield's Hoeg, Euerle, Carlson and senior guard Joe Patten made the Class AA State All-Tournament Team.