Tribune Staff Reports
MELROSE - Both teams shot well but Melrose limited Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City’s chances and won the West Central Conference championship game 87-72 on Thursday.
The Falcons shot almost 60 percent from the floor but the Dutchmen allowed them just 48 attempts while shooting 50 percent themselves.
Melrose hit nine 3-pointers and also hit 16 of 17 free throws.
Melrose’s Dillon Haider hit six 3-point shots and scored 23 points and Tyler Braegelmann finished with 18 points.
Blake Gerads had 17 points and nine rebounds, Cesar Cervantes had five points and eight assists, and Isaac Herkenhoff had seven points and eight boards.
ACGC’s Brody Larson had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, and Colton Minnick had 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Falcons open the playoffs against Cleveland at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Grove City.
The Dutchmen play host to Pillager to open the Section 6AA playoffs at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Melrose 87, ACGC 72
ACGC (17-9) 34 53 - 87
Melrose (22-5) 43 29 - 72
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City
28-47 FG; 12-15 FT; 10 fouls … Scoring: Brody Larson 15, Payton Kinzler 5, Andrew Gratz 6, Jaren Kaddatz 2, Walker Youngblom 5, Jake Mueller 2, Jaden Amdahl 4, Adam Johnson 4, Gabe Eisenbacher 15, Colton Minnick 14 … 3-point shots: Larson 1, Kinzler 1, Gratz 2 … Rebound leader: Minnick 5, Larson 4, Johnson 4 … Assist leader: Larson 10, Minnick 4 … Steal leader: Johnson 2
Melrose
28-47 FG; 16-17 FT; 14 fouls … Scoring: Cesar Cervantes 5, Isaac Herkenhoff 7, Dillon Haider 23, Tyler Braegelmann 18, Drake Meyer 2, Anthony Welle 5, Zach Ettel 2, Colton Meyer 8, Blake Gerads 17 … 3-point shots: Cervantes 1, Herkenhoff 1, Haider 6, Welle 1 … Rebound leaders: Gerads 9, Braegelman 5 … Assist leaders: Cervantes 8, Herkenhoff 8 … Steal leader: Cervantes 2
Central Minn.
Rockford 72, BBE 43
Austin Trustheim led the Jaguars with 10 points, and Brendon Loch had two points and seven rebounds.
No. 5-seed BBE (3-11, 5-21) will face No. 4-seed East Central on Thursday in Finlayson in the Section 5A tournament.
Rockford (8-6, 17-9) 43 29 - 72
BBE (3-11, 5-21) 28 15 - 43
Rockford
27-57 FG; n/a FT; n/a fouls … Scoring: n/a … 3-point shots: n/a … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
18-54 FG; 3-5 FT; 5 fouls … Scoring: Heinsius 7, Tensen 8, Trustheim 10, Fischer 2, Loch 2, Wosmek 5, Wiener 2, Bitzan 3, Gregory 2, Illies 2 … 3-point shots: Tensen 2, Wosmek 1, Bitzan 1 … Rebound leader: Loch 7 … Assist leader: Bitzan 4, Heinsius 4 … Steal leader: Heinsius 2
Non-Conference
HLA 65, Minnewaska 55
Minnewaska couldn’t muster enough second half offense to pull off the upset on Thursday over visiting Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
Riley Thompson scored 20 points, connecting on six-3 pointers, while Austin VerSteeg recorded a double-double with 24 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.
To finish out the regular season, the Lakers host Pequot Lakes on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
HLA (20-4) 32 33 - 65
Minnewaska (13-12) 26 29 - 55
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy
Statistics not available
Minnewaska
18-44 FG; 9-11 FT; 13 fouls … Scoring: Michael Gruber 4, Riley Thompson 20, Matt McIver 4, Greg Helander 1, Austin VerSteeg 24, Brandon French 2 … 3-point shots: Gruber 1, Thompson 6, VerSteeg 3 … Rebound leader: VerSteeg 11 … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: VerSteeg 3, Gruber 3
Section 3A-North
RCW 51, KMS 49
Spencer Mortensen scored 12 points and Brady Holwerda had 11 points and nine rebounds as RCW edged KMS in the Section 3A-North play-in game.
Colin Thompson added 10 points and five assists, and Adam Terhaar had eight points.
Tanner Rohner scored a game-high 18 points, and Preston Mahlum collected 11 points and nine boards for the Fighting Saints, who finished 1-25 on the season.
The No. 8-seed Jaguars will play No. 1-seed CMCS in the quarterfinals on Saturday in Montevideo.
KMS (1-25) 18 31 - 49
RCW (5-18) 28 23 - 51
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg
16-60 FG; 10-13 FT; 17 fouls … Scoring: Tanner Rohner 18, Taylor Feldman 8, Brandon Rasmusson 3, Josh Peterson 9, Preston Mahlum 11 … 3-point shots: Rohner 5, Rasmusson 1, Mahlum 1 … Rebound leader: Mahlum 9 … Assist leader: Peterson 4 … Steal leader: Rasmussen 4
Renville County West
22-54 FG; 5-11 FT; 16 fouls … Scoring: Colin Thompson 10, Brady Holwerda 11, Jon Kronlokken 4, Ian Engstrom 6, Adam Terhaar 8, Spencer Mortensen 12 … 3-point shots: Engstrom 2 … Rebound leader: Holwerda 9 … Assist leader: Thompson 5 … Steal leader: 4 with 3
