Boys Basketball: Nevis rolls, will play for Section 5A West title

WADENA – A 20-3 run starting late in the first half put Nevis in control in a 90-62 victory over Swanville in a Section 5A West semifinal boys basketball game on Monday, March 13.

The Tigers held a slim 32-29 lead before going on a 10-0 run in the final 2:19 to close out the first half. JohnPaul Benson’s 3-pointer, Spencer Lindow’s layup off a steal, Eli Lewis’ layup and a 3-pointer by Lindow before the buzzer gave Nevis a 42-29 advantage at the break.

Layups by Alex Lester and Joe Houchin and a 3-pointer by Benson to open the second half pushed the lead to 52-32 with 14:02 to play. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Lindow, a jumper and a 3-pointer by Benson, a 3-pointer by Christian Moe, and a layup by Lewis helped extend the margin to 77-45 with 5:42 left. Layups by Lealan Norby and Eli Lindow, a pair of 3-pointers by Isaac Bessler, and a 3-pointer by Noah Kramer closed out the win. Hunter Moore hit a pair of 3-pointers, Lucas Miller had three layups and Andrew Notermann hit a 3-pointer to lead Swanville in the late going.

Nevis, the No. 1 seed, took charge early by jumping out to a 21-8 lead. Layups by Austin Ahrendt, Houchin and Devan Lindow made it 6-0 before Lester followed a putback with a three-point play for an 11-4 advantage at the 14:36 mark. Spencer Lindow hit consecutive 3-pointers before Ahrendt and Benson converted layups for a 13-point lead with 11:33 to go in the first half.

After the No. 4-seeded Bulldogs used a pair of inside baskets by Brody Kircher to cut the gap to 24-17 at the 7:35 mark, Devan Lindow scored off a rebound, Lester scored inside and Spencer Lindow hit back-to-back baskets for a 32-22 lead. A layup and a 3-pointer by Miller closed the margin to 32-29 before the Tigers took control.

Spencer Lindow made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points while Benson (15) and Lester (14) also scored in double figures as 12 different players entered the scoring column. Lester grabbed seven rebounds, Benson had five rebounds and five steals, Spencer Lindow chipped in four rebounds and two steals, Devan Lindow dished out six assists and had three steals, and Ahrendt and Moe had three assists each. The Tigers made 12 3-pointers in the game to improve to 22-6 with their sixth straight win. Nevis has scored at least 90 points in four of its last six games.

Miller (23), Moore (11) and Parker Schultz (10) hit double figures for the Bulldogs, who ended the season with a 13-13 record.

“We got off to a good start, and even though we got into a little foul trouble later in the first half, which led to some sloppy offense, we went on a run to go into halftime up 42-29,” said Nevis head coach Scott Kramer. “Spencer Lindow played like a senior, hitting some key shots and scoring 15 of his 21 in the first half. Swanville was able to stay in it by getting to the free throw line and hitting most of them. We jumped out early in the second half and never looked back as we got the lead to over 20 and coasted to the win. Benson and Lester were also key on offense and the boards, and our bench did a nice job when we got into some foul trouble.”

Nevis advances to play Browerville-Eagle Valley for the Section 5A West title at Wadena on Wednesday (March 15). Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m. B-EV, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 2 Pine River-Backus 70-58 in the other semifinal game. B-EV improved to 22-5 while PR-B fell to 18-9. Nevis defeated B-EV 61-47 during the regular season.