Boys basketball: Morris/CA knocks off No. 1 Litchfield in OT
MORRIS — Morris/Chokio-Alberta’s Austin Dierks hit a four-footer in the lane with less than a second left in regulation to force overtime, then scored four of his team’s eight points in the extra period to lead the Tigers to a 46-42 victory over state-ranked Litchfield on Friday.
The Tigers improved to 3-1. Litchfield, the Class AA runner-up last spring, entered the game ranked No. 1 in Class AA.
The Dragons limited MCA to 12 first-half points and led by nine, but the Tigers stayed close and made a late surge, said MCA head coach Mark Torgerson.
“It seemed like we were always chasing them early,” Torgerson said. “But we hung in there just enough. There was a lot of good defense played by both teams. And patience.”
MCA committed just seven turnovers and the Dragons turned it over nine times.
Trailed by two with about four seconds left, MCA’s Lincoln Berget missed the first of two free throws, meaning he had to purposely miss the second. He did his job well.
The ball caromed off the front of the rim and Dierks picked up the loose ball. He tossed up the game-tying shot with less than a second left.
In the overtime, Dierks scored two baskets and Torgerson hit two foul shots to put the Tigers up four, but Litchfield cut the lead to one with 12 seconds left before Berget hit two free throws to ice the game.
Jake Torgerson led the Tigers with 14 points, and Dierks finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Berget had 6 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Morris/CA 46, Litchfield 42
Litchfield (2-1) 21 17 4 — 42
Morris/CA (3-1) 12 26 8 — 46
LITCHFIELD – 17-36 FG (5-11 3-pt); 3-6 FT; 16 rebounds; 16 fouls … Scoring: Zack Whitchurch 5, Cameron Sandmark 3, Zach Kinny 14, Alex Hendricks 7, Eric Madsen 2, Riley Pater 11 … 3-point shots: Whitchurch 1, Kinny 3, Hendricks 1 … Rebound leaders: Whitchurch 4, Kinny 4, Madsen 3 … Assist leaders: Kinny 4, Sandmark 3 … Steal leaders: Whitchurch 3
MORRIS/CHOKIO-ALBERTA – 17-45 FG (4-12 3-pt); 8-18 FT; 31 rebounds; 12 fouls … Scoring: Jake Torgerson 14, Tyler Henrichs 2, Lincoln Berget 6, Logan Manska 4, Austin Dierks 13, John Tiernan 7 … 3-point shots: Torgerson 3, Manska 1 … Rebound leaders: Dierks 9, Berget 7, Chandler 6 … Assist leaders: Torgerson 3, Manska 3, Erickson 2 … Steal leaders: Berget 2, Manska 2
