COLD SPRING -- Rocori outscored Willmar 14-7 in overtime to beat the Cardinals 66-57 in a battle of top 10 Class AAA boys basketball teams Tuesday.
The Central Lakes Conference win kept the Spartans unbeaten at 8-0 in the conference. Willmar dropped to 6-2 in league and will now need help to catch the defending Central Lakes Conference champions.
No. 4-rated Rocori made 12 of 14 free throws in overtime and 21 of 25 for the game, ending Willmar's seven-game win streak.
The teams meet again on Feb. 27 in Willmar and possibly in the Section 8AAA playoff.
Justin Stommes, Rocori's outstanding 6-foot-7 playmaker, led all scorers with 30 points. He scored the Spartans' first 11 points of the second half. Chad Aaseth, a 6-6 forward, added 18 points.
ADVERTISEMENT
Willmar senior guard Kyle Townswick sank a three-pointer with five seconds left to send the game to overtime.
"Casey Sussenguth was suppose to give Townswick a high-post screen, but Rocori saw it and Townswick made a nice crossover move to his right to get open," said Willmar coach Steve Grove of the clutch 20-footer.
But in overtime, Rocori quickly went up by four points -- all on free throws -- and Willmar never got closer than three, 56-53 on a Townswick free throw.
Townswick finished with 15 points, all in the second half and overtime.
Sophomore Jordan Smith added a career-high 12 points (plus seven rebounds) to go with the 10 points he scored at Edina on Friday.
Michael Dunham and Ryan Hagemeyer each added 11 points before fouling out.
Willmar, ranked No. 8, fell behind 5-2 before a 13-3 run fueled by three-pointers. Dunham hit a pair of treys and Smith, the sophomore, also hit from long range.
But Stommes and Rocori couldn't be silenced for long. Stommes hit a trey that closed Willmar's lead to 20-13. His steal and lay-up at the end of the half gave the Spartans a 24-22 lead.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dunham and Smith each had eight points by halftime, perhaps benefiting from Rocori's close attention to Townswick.
The second-half was more intense basketball with the crowd at fever pitch. Willmar, which hurt itself with turnover, had a four-point lead, 41-37, at 8:30 on a basket by Cory Hanson.
Willmar led 49-48 in the last minute but the Spartans went up 52-49 on four free throws before Townswick's basket.
With the overtime loss, Willmar finished a tough four-game stretch that included three wins over Class AAAA foes.
Rocori 66, Willmar 59
Willmar (6-2, 11-3).............22 30 7 -- 59
Rocori (8-0, 12-1)..............24 28 14 -- 66
WILLMAR - 17-35 FG (6-18 3-pt); 7-12 FT; 24 rebounds; 25 fouls ... Scoring: Kyle Townswick 15, Jordan Smith 12, Cory Hanson 5, Thomas Boike 2, Michael Dunham 11, Ryan Hagemeyer 11, Casey Sussenguth 3 ... 3-point shots: Townswick 3, Dunham 3 ... Rebound leader: Smith 7 ... Assist leader: Townswick 4 ... Steal leaders: Townswick 2, Dunham 2
ADVERTISEMENT
ROCORI - 19-41 FG (6-18 3-pt); 22-25 FT; 23 rebounds; 12 fouls ... Scoring: Justin Stommes 30, Chad Aaseth 18, Aaron Burtzel 6, Derek Eisenschenk 5, Justin Udermann 5, Sam Feldhege 2 ... 3-point shots: Eisenschenk 1, Aaseth 3, Stommes 1, Udermann 1 ... Rebound, assist and steal leaders not available
