GROVE CITY - Alex Hendricks scored a game-high 33 points, including nine 3-pointers as Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City made a big mark in its Section 2A opener with a 100-65 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday.
The Falcons are on a mission earn another trip to the Minnesota Class A State Tournament after losing a tight game to state runner-up Rushford-Peterson in the first round of the 2014 tournament.
ACGC is 18-9 overall and advances to play Minnesota Valley Lutheran at 6 p.m. Friday in Le Sueur. MVL advanced with a 72-55 victory over Sleepy Eye-St. Mary’s on Tuesday.
The Falcons’ Brody Larson scored 27 points, dished out 11 assists and had five steals, and Adam Johnson recorded seven points and 11 rebounds.
Colton Minnick had eight points and three steals and Gabe Eisenbacher had six points.
The Falcons didn’t play early like it would have liked to start their playoff opener.
The Clippers were with two points , 19-17, at the 8:16 mark of the first half.
But ACGC got it together and took it to Cleveland with a vengence.
The outscored the Clippers 29-13 the final eight minutes and led by 18 points.
A 52-point second-half outburst was more than enough to put the Clippers away.
Cleveland’s Austin Pionsky had 26 points and Jaiden Zishka recorded 15 points with four steals in the loss.
ACGC 100, Cleveland 65
Cleveland (9-18) 30 35 - 65
ACGC (18-9) 48 52 - 100
Cleveland
26-63 FG; 6-13 FT; 20 fouls … Scoring: Spencer Lynch 6, Austin Pionsky 26, Spencer Davies 3, Jaiden Zishka 15, Brady Omtvedt 3, Jacob Zimmerman 3, Tyler Piotter 4, Mitch McCabe 5 … 3-point shots: Pionsky 2, Zishka 1, Omtvedt 1, Zimmerman 1, Piotter 1, McCabe 1 … Rebound leader: Zishka 6, Piotter 5 … Assist leader: Zishka 6 … Steal leader: Zishka 4
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
32-63 FG; 20-24 FT; 15 fouls … Scoring: Brody Larson 27, Alex Hendricks 33, Andrew Gratz 3, Jaren Kaddatz 2, Jake Mueller 2, Jaden Amdahl 3, Adam Johnson 7, Gabe Eisenbacher 6, Colton Minnick 8, Erik Belgum 4 … 3-point shots: Larson 6, Hendricks 9, Gratz 1 … Rebound leader: Johnson 11, Larson 5 … Assist leader: Larson 11, Hendricks 5 … Steal leader: Larson 5, Minnick 3
