MINNEAPOLIS – Russell-Tyler-Ruthton closed out the first half with a 23-5 run, sparking an 80-62 victory over Nevis in the quarterfinals of the state Class A boys basketball tournament at Williams Arena on Wednesday, March 22.
R-T-R, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, used three layups by Drew Werkman to claim an early 8-2 lead with 15:26 to play in the first half. A jumper by Joe Houchin, three free throws by Alex Lester, a layup by Austin Ahrendt and a 3-pointer by Spencer Lindow helped the Tigers cut the gap to 16-13 at the 9:11 mark before R-T-R went on a 13-1 spurt behind a pair of baskets by Aiden Wichmann and baskets by Werkman, Hayden Gravley and Tucker Haroldson to make it 29-14 with 4:18 remaining. Lester hit four free throws as Nevis stayed within 33-18, but 3-pointers by Cody Wichmann and Gravley in the final 1:04 gave the Knights a 39-18 advantage at the break.
Nevis shot 22% (4 for 18) from the field and went 9 for 19 on free throws in the first half while turning the ball over eight times. R-T-R offset eight turnovers by making 16 of 32 shots and scoring 10 points off turnovers.
Layups by Camden Hansen and Cody Wichmann extended R-T-R’s lead to 43-18. Nevis responded with a layup by Houchin, two free throws by Ahrendt and a 3-pointer by JohnPaul Benson to slice the gap to 46-25 at the 16:46 mark before the Knights used back-to-back layups by Aiden Wichmann and a 3-pointer by Cody Wichmann to push the lead to 53-25 with 14:23 to play.
A three-point play by Lester, two 3-pointers by Spencer Lindow, two free throws by Benson, a jumper by Devan Lindow and a layup by Lester kept the Tigers within 63-40 at the 10:17 mark. After R-T-R extended its advantage to 69-40 at the 8:55 mark, a jumper and two free throws by Christian Moe, a 3-pointer by Spencer Lindow, a 3-pointer by Benson, and a layup by Lester made it 73-52 with 4:16 left.
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The Knights pushed their lead to 79-52 with 3:22 to go before three layups by Lester, a jumper by Devan Lindow and a layup by AJ Bessler capped off the scoring for Nevis, who scored 20 points off 10 R-T-R turnovers in the second half.
Lester finished with a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds while dishing out three assists and making three steals. Spencer Lindow added 12 points by going 4 for 12 on 3-pointers and joined Lester with two blocked shots. Houchin had six rebounds for the Tigers, who went 5 for 17 on 3-pointers in the second half and 6 for 22 on 3-pointers in the game in falling to 24-7.
Aiden Wichmann’s 24 points and nine rebounds, Werkman’s 19 points and eight rebounds, Cody Wichmann’s 11 points and five steals, Gravley’s 10 points, Hansen’s nine rebounds and Haroldson’s seven assists led the Knights, who made 7 of 18 3-pointers to advance to the semifinals with a 29-1 record.
Nevis will play either Cherry or West Border in a consolation semifinal game at Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday (March 23) at 10 a.m. The winner of that game will play for fifth place at Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday (March 25) at 8 a.m.
NEVIS: Ahrendt 2 3-10 7, D. Lindow 2 0-0 4, Houchin 2 0-0 4, Benson 2 2-2 8, Lester 6 8-12 20, Kramer 0 0-0 0, I. Bessler 0 0-0 0, Lewis 0 0-0 0, Moe 1 3-4 5, E. Lindow 0 0-0 0, Norby 0 0-0 0, S. Lindow 4 0-0 12, AJ Bessler 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 for 53 (FG), 16 for 28 (FT).
RUSSELL-TYLER-RUTHTON: C. Wichmann 4 0-0 11, A. Wichmann 9 5-6 24, Hansen 3 0-2 6, Gravely 4 0-0 10, Werkman 7 4-5 19, Christanson 2 1-2 5, Haroldson 2 0-1 4, Pape 0 1-2 1. Totals: 31 for 61 (FG), 11 for 18 (FT).
Halftime: R-T-R 39, Nevis 18. Three-pointers: Benson 2, S. Lindow 4, C. Wichmann 3, A. Wichmann 1, Gravely 2, Werkman 1. Team fouls: Nevis 17, R-T-R 19. Fouled out: Benson. Rebounds: Nevis 24 (Lester 10, Houchin 6, Ahrendt 2, AJ Bessler 2, Benson 1, Kramer 1, Moe 1, S. Lindow 1). Assists: Nevis 7 (Lester 3, D. Lindow 2, Lewis 1, Moe 1). Steals: Nevis 9 (Lester 3, D. Lindow 2, Moe 2, Ahrendt 1, Benson 1). Blocked shots: Nevis 6 (Lester 2, S. Lindow 2, D. Lindow 1, I. Bessler 1). Turnovers: Nevis 16, R-T-R 18.
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