BENSON -- David didn't beat Goliath, but he came close.
MACCRAY erased double-digit deficits near the end of both halves, but fell to Robbinsdale Cooper 83-80 in the championship game of the Case IH Benson boys basketball tournament Thursday.
Cooper, a Class AAAA school, held a 12-point advantage with about four minutes remaining in the first half, but the Wolverines, a Class A squad, rallied to trail 48-47 at halftime.
Again in the second half, Cooper held a 10-point lead with about three minutes left, but MACCRAY chipped away to a final three-point loss.
The Wolverines (4-1) made use of 24 Cooper fouls, sinking 32 of 42 from the free-throw line. Seth Hinrichs, who led all scorers with 33 points, made 21 of 22 from the charity stripe. He is three points away from 1,000 for his career.
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Terrance Averyheart paced the Hawks (3-1) with 29 points, including five 3-pointers. He was named the tournament's MVP. Rashaad Vaughn added 17 points and Raheem Tyner had 16.
Brady Boike scored 16 points and brought down 11 rebounds for the Wolverines. Hinrichs added eight boards. Riley Aeikens had nine points, six steals and five assists.
Robbinsdale Cooper 83, MACCRAY 80
MACCRAY (4-1) 47 33 -- 80
Cooper (3-1) 48 35 -- 83
MACCRAY - 22-49 FG (4-19 3-pt); 32-42 FT; 27 rebounds; 10 fouls ... Scoring: Corey Abbas 5, Jamie Boonstra 8, Riley Aeikens 9, Jerrod Holmgren 2, Alex Wrede 3, Brady Boike 16, Seth Hinrichs 33, Taylor Thissen 4 ... 3-point shots: Abbas 1, Aeikens 1, Wrede 1, Thissen 1 ... Rebound leaders: Boike 11, Hinrichs 8 ... Assist leaders: Aeikens 5 ... Steal leaders: Aeikens 6
ROBBINSDALE COOPER - 35-63 FG (7-17 3-pt); 6-9 FT; 28 rebounds; 24 fouls ... Scoring: Leroy Taylor 5, Billy Kellogg 2, Handsul Pour 4, Rashaad Vaughn 17, Terrance Averyheart 29, Charles Williams 6, Tajreed Rich Jr. 2, Raheem Tyner 16, Jon Lindgren 2 ... 3-point shots: Pour 1, Vaughn 1, Averyheart 5 ... Rebound leaders: Tyner 7 ... Assist leaders: Pour 7 ... Steal leaders: Averyheart 4
Third Place
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Benson 77, Ortonville 51
Twelve players scored at least two points for the Braves (3-2) in the third-place game victory.
Cody Jaeger and Sam Peterson led the way with 15 points each. Peterson also pulled down 12 rebounds. Jaeger made both of Benson's three-pointers. Matt Ahrndt followed with 14 points.
Dan Berdan's 14 points paced the Trojans (0-4).
Ortonville (0-4) 28 23 -- 51
Benson (3-2) 38 39 -- 77
ORTONVILLE - 20-55 FG (3-15 3-pt); 8-14 FT; 33 rebounds; 20 fouls ... Scoring: Tony Schake 2, Brandon Nelson 8, Trent Kuechenmeister 4, Jacob Meyer 8, Jade Hasslen 2, Dan Berdan 14, Tate Messmer 6, Yannic Graf 4, Austin Swanson 3 ... 3-point shots: Nelson 1, Berdan 2 ... Rebound leaders: Berdan 8 ... Assist leaders: none ... Steal leaders: Graf 3
BENSON - 32-73 FG (2-9 3-pt); 11-21 FT; 39 rebounds; 17 fouls ... Scoring: Cody Jaeger 15, Martin McManus 2, Carl Hoffman 3, Andy Bouta 4, Colin Ose 2, Carter Fennell 8, Logan Connelly 8, Anthony Berreau 2, Derek Hilleren 2, Matt Ahrndt 14, Sam Peterson 15, Tom Claussen 2 ... 3-point shots: Jaeger 2 ... Rebound leaders: Peterson 12, Connelly 5 ... Assist leaders: Fennell 5 ... Steal leaders: Connelly 4
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West Central South Minnewaska 67, Paynesville 59
Brady Johnsrud poured in 29 points, including five 3-pointers, and Shane Bosek added 10 points and 13 rebounds to lead the unbeaten Lakers (3-0, 5-0). Andrew Ostrander chip-ped in with 11 points.
Paynesville's Dan Weidner hit six 3-pointers for all 18 of his points. Josh Bungum had four 3-pointers among his 16 points. Tanner Wendroth added 10 points.
Minnewaska (3-0, 5-0) 32 35 -- 67
Paynesville (0-4, 0-7) 24 35 -- 59
MINNEWASKA - 32-66 FG (6-18 3-pt); 9-14 FT; 33 rebounds; 11 fouls ... Scoring: Brady Johnsrud 29, Shane Bosek 10, Blake Johnsrud 7, Andrew Ostrander 11, Trenton Berg 6, Michael Nielsen 2, Austin Giese 2 ... 3-point shots: Brady Johnsrud 5, Blake Johnsrud 1 ... Rebound leaders: Bosek 13 ... Assist leaders: Giese 5 ... Steal leaders: not available
PAYNESVILLE - 22 FG (13 3-pt); 0-7 FT; 18 rebounds; 17 fouls ... Scoring: Tanner Wendroth 10, Josh Bungum, 16, Matt Frenchick 2, Jordan Schleper 5, Dan Weidner 18, Anthony Poepping 6, Brandon Schleper 2 ... 3-point shots: Wendroth 2, Bungum 4, Jordan Schleper 1, Weidner 6 ... Rebound leaders: Jordan Schleper 5, Weidner 5 ... Assist leaders: not available ... Steal leaders: Wendroth 3
