DAWSON — Dawson-Boyd’s Gauge Liebl put together a heck of a performance Monday in what was likely his final basketball game in front of his home crowd.

Connecting on 15 of his 21 field-goal attempts, the senior forward turned in game-highs with 34 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Blackjacks to a 70-53 victory over Canby during the Section 3A-North play-in game from Dawson-Boyd High School.

After beating the ninth-seeded Lancers, No. 8 Dawson-Boyd (4-15) takes on top-seeded Lac qui Parle Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday from Madison. The Eagles (15-3) swept the regular-season series.

Early in the first half, Liebl poured in seven straight points to flip a 9-6 deficit into a 13-11 Blackjacks advantage.

The senior forward was particularly effective on the low block. He was aggressive on the offensive glass, often snatching the ball out of the air following a miss before hitting a putback. When his number was called, Liebl posted up, muscled his way into the lane and converted an array of shots, from hook shots to up-and-unders.

Later in the half, he showed his range.

Liebl drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key to put Dawson-Boyd up 27-18. Then, in the final seconds of the half, sophomore guard Keegon Wicht pushed the ball up to floor and dished it to Libel open behind the arc on the left wing. The senior squared up, elevated for his shot and got nothing but net as the buzzer sounded for halftime.

The Blackjacks took a 32-20 lead in the break. Liebl matched Canby’s first-half total with 20 points.

Wicht chipped in 16 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Micah Olson added 12 points, six rebounds and four steals.

Elsewhere in the 3A-North bracket on Thursday:

• No. 5 MACCRAY (8-10) heads to No. 4 Minneota (11-6). The Wolverines defeated the Vikings 71-54 on Jan. 26 in Clara City.

• No. 6 Lakeview (8-8) travels to Renville to face No. 3 Renville County West (12-5). The Jaguars earned a 63-38 win over the Lakers on Jan. 19.

• No. 2 Central Minnesota Christian (14-4) plays host to No. 7 Wabasso (10-9) in Prinsburg. This is the first meeting between the Bluejays and Rabbits this season.

The sub-section semifinals are Saturday at the high seed. The sub-section championship takes place Tuesday, March 23 at the high seed, and the section championship game will be Friday, March 26 at a neutral site.

D-B 70,
Canby 53

Canby (3-14) 20 33 — 53

D-B (4-15) 32 38 — 70

CANBY - Scoring: Evan Weber 5, Ty Stoks 11, Trevor Gray 2, Blake Stocks 2, Jordan Ries 2, William Varcoe 19, Nathan Prokop 2, Presley Viessman 2, Nathan DeVos 2, Joey Hiedeman 2, (Four points unassigned) … 3-point shots: Varcoe 2 … Rebound leader: Ries 7 … Assist leader: N/A … Steal leader: Stocks 2, Gray 2, Varcoe 2 ... Block leader: N/A

D-B - Scoring: Zeke Sather 3, Micah Olson 12, Gauge Liebl 34, Jordan Hastad 4, Keegon Wicht 16 … 3-point shots: Olson 2, Liebl 2, Wicht 2 … Rebound leader: Liebl 12, Sather 7, Wicht 7 … Assist leader: Sather 2 … Steal leader: Olson 4, Sather 3, Hastad 3 ... Block leader: N/A

1/4: Dawson-Boyd senior Micah Olson attempts a left-handed layup during Monday's Section 3A-North play-in game against Canby from Dawson-Boyd High School. Patrick Bernadeau / West Central Tribune

2/4: Dawson-Boyd sophomore Keegon Wicht dribbles into the lane during Monday's Section 3A-North play-in game against Canby from Dawson-Boyd High School. Patrick Bernadeau / West Central Tribune

3/4: Dawson-Boyd junior Caleb Torke handles the ball at the top of the key while facing a zone defense during Monday's Section 3A-North play-in game against Canby from Dawson-Boyd High School. Patrick Bernadeau / West Central Tribune

4/4: Dawson-Boyd senior Micah Olson handles the ball on the perimeter during Monday's Section 3A-North play-in game against Canby from Dawson-Boyd High School. Patrick Bernadeau / West Central Tribune