MARSHALL -- In a game involving the Thunderbirds and the Thunder Hawks, someone's season had to come to a booming halt.
Jay Rogotzke scored 18 points and Alex Platz had 11 points and 11 rebounds as Gibbon-Fairfax-Winth-rop held off Montevideo 61-57 in the Section 3AA-North championship at Southwest Minnesota State Saturday afternoon.
The loss snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Thunder Hawks, who finished the season 16-10.
GFW (19-7) advances to the title game against Windom (18-7) at 5 p.m. Thursday in Marshall.
Montevideo will have all five of its starters back next season.
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The Thunderbirds escaped a nearly-critical mistake late in the game, fouling Montevideo's Ryan Boike on a three-point attempt with 3.5 seconds left and GFW clinging to a 59-56 lead. Boike drained the first free throw, then missed the second. He intentionally missed the third, but Montevideo was unable to corral the rebound and GFW was fouled and made two free throws with one second left for the final margin.
"Give (GFW) them credit. They played really well," said Montevideo coach Dan Douglas. "We got behind by 10 in the second half and never really recovered."
The loss spoiled a stellar night for Montevideo's Jake Douglas, who finished with a career-high 23 points and 11 rebounds. Colton Vien added 12 points and Brett Bergeson and Jacobey Johnson had nine points apiece.
The lead switched hands six times in the first half before Johnson scored to tie the game 25-25 at halftime.
The Thunder Hawks then fell behind 44-34 with 11:20 left in the game, but slowly whittled the deficit to 51-47 when Boike hit a free throw with 6:08 remaining. Douglas then hit six free throws in as many attempts within 56-54 with two minutes to go.
Rogotzke's two free throws pushed the GFW advantage to 58-54. Following a missed Montevideo shot, GFW was running time off the clock when Colton Vien stole the ball and went in for a layup to make it 58-56 with :33 left.
But the Thunder Hawks would get no closer. Spencer Kruggel made a free throw with 16 seconds remaining for the final margin.
Gibbon-Fairfax-Winth. 61, Montevideo 57
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Montevideo (16-10) 25 32 -- 57
GF-Winthrop (19-7) 25 36 -- 61
MONTEVIDEO - 16-44 FG (4-14 3-pt); 21-27 FT; 27 rebounds; 20 fouls ... Scoring: Tom Grages 2, Brett Bergeson 9, Jake Douglas 23, Ryan Boike 2, Jacobey Johnson 9, Colton Vien 12 ... 3-point shots: Bergeson 3, Johnson 1 ... Rebound leader: Douglas 11 ... Assist leader: Boike 3 ... Steal leaders: Bergeson 2
GIBBON-FAIRFAX-WINTHROP - 21-42 FG (4 3-pt); 16-22 FT; 28 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Brandon Wortz 8, Jay Rogotzke 17, Kyle Hoffman 8, Alex Platz 11, Jamie Brooks 5, Jacob Sjostrom 2, Spencer Kruggel 10 ... 3-point shots: Wortz 2, Rogotzke 2 ... Rebound leaders: Platz 11, Wortz 5, Brooks 5 ... Assist and steal leaders not available
