WILLMAR - The Ridgewater Warriors dealt with adversity and came out on top, defeating St. Cloud Tech 82-75 Saturday to earn a share of second place in the conference with them.
Ridgewater lost the ensuing coin flip and will be the Southern Division’s third seed in the MCAC State Tournament, the first appearance Ridgewater has earned since 2009. The Warriors’ 20 regular-season wins is also a school record.
On Saturday, The Warriors led by eight at halftime, but starters Jack Turnbull and Taylor DeLaughter both fouled out, leaving the Warriors to lean heavily on their bench.
Marvin Perkins and Nick Kubesh, in particular, stepped up, each scoring 15 points and combining for six 3s.
And as usual, Akeem Oglesby was incredible for Ridgewater, pouring in 30 points (hitting five 3-pointers) with seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
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Ridgewater’s first opponent in the state tournament will be Central Lakes College. The game will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Anoka-Ramsey College in Coon Rapids.
Ridgewater 82, St. Cloud Tech 75
SC Tech (10-4, 18-8) 33 42 - 75
Ridgewater (10-4, 20-7) 41 41 - 82
St. Cloud Tech
Statistics not provided
Ridgewater
Scoring: Marvin Perkins Jr. 15, Dazhown Coleman 3, Devin Fostervold 2, Taylor DeLaughter 4, Jack Miller 6, Carl Williams 2, Nick Kubesh 15, Jack Turnbull 5, Akeem Oglesby 30 … 3-point shots: Perkins 3, Kubesh 3, Turnbull 1, Oglesby 5 … Rebound leaders: Kubesh 10, DeLaughter 8, Oglesby 7 … Assist leaders: Oglesby 7, Coleman 4 … Steal leaders: Oglesby 2
