BENSON — Trudging through an 0-26 regular season, Ortonville is now 1-0 in the postseason.
Facing eighth-seeded Benson on Monday in the Section 6A-South boys basketball play-in game, the ninth-seeded Trojans scored 45 points in the second half to come away with a 63-53 victory.
The victory snapped a 37-game losing streak for the Trojans. Their last win came against Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley, 63-55, on Jan. 21, 2022.
“I don’t think it’s really set in too much for the guys yet,” said Ortonville head coach Isaiah Longnecker. “I don’t know how much they believed they could actually do it but I believed in them. And they did it. I’m so proud of them.”
With the win, Ortonville faces top-seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa at 7 p.m. Thursday in Brooten.
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The Trojans and Braves met in the regular season, with Benson getting a 69-58 victory in Ortonville.
In the second matchup, Ortonville wanted to ratchet up the defense. Both teams struggled to get their offensive footing in the first half, with the Trojans up 18-15 at the break.
“It was the defense that was the difference tonight,” Longnecker said.
With 11:09 to play, Benson took a 34-31 lead after back-to-back 3-pointers from Landon Skarsten.
“That little streak, sometimes you make a couple in a row and you miss a couple in a row,” said Braves head coach Mike Felt. “We needed to clean up the defensive rebounds and get those 50-50 balls. That’s how these close games are won and lost.”
The two teams traded the lead over the next few minutes, with Ortonville jumping ahead for good after a baseline jumper by Quentin Kuefler that made it 43-39 with 6:54 to play.
Ortonville’s free-throw shooting came up clutch at the end. They finished 16 of 22 from the stripe, including an 11-for-13 showing for Hunter Merritt. He led all scorers with 24 points.
“We made our free throws down the stretch and that’s what everybody says when you’re a kid: you got to handle the ball and you got to shoot free throws,” Longnecker said. “Our guards did a great job.”
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Juan Espinoza, the Braves’ lone starting senior, led the team with 19 points. Freshman post Harold Habben followed with 16 points.
“We’re extremely young; we played three freshmen and had an eighth-grader come off the bench most of the season,” Felt said. “They improved throughout the season and got a lot of experience. Hopefully they can take it and they can keep improving throughout the summer.
“We’re going to miss Juan. He’s a very good player and a very gifted offensive player. Now, other people have got to step up.”
Ortonville 63, Benson 53
Ortonville (1-26) 18 45 — 63
Benson (6-21) 15 38 — 53
ORTONVILLE - Scoring: Hunter Merritt 24, Quentin Kuefler 10, Isaac Brown 10, Cadyn Vanderwal 9, Jaydion Hughes 3, Carter Lee 3, Daunte Fetters 2, Connor Danielson 2 … 3-point shots: Merritt 3, Hughes 1, Lee 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a
BENSON - Scoring: Juan Espinoza 19, Harold Habben 16, Landon Skarsten 9, Blake Brehmer 6, Tayte Antolick 3 … 3-point shots: Skarsten 2, Antolick 1, Brehmer 1, Espinoza 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a
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