Staff photo by Ali Selvey Springfield's Ben Potter makes a reverse layup during the South Subsection 2A men's basketball final Monday at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.
ST. PETER — Springfield cut a 15-point deficit to five in the second half with a minute left in the game, but the Tigers came back as Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey won 82-74 against Section 2A Southern on Monday. Men's Basketball Subsection Finals at Gustavus Adolphus College.
“They are a group of almost entirely elderly people.” Springfield head coach Lance Larson said of MLA/C. “They've been together for three or four years and have played together. They're tough to guard because they're athletic and have kids that can shoot. They work hard and play good defense. Overall, I thought we did well in the spurts, but we let our guard down a little bit and gave them a 10-point, 13-point lead and we couldn't get it back.”
Brian Burkle led the Tigers with 21 points and eight rebounds, and Ben Potter had 17 points and 11 rebounds. For the Tigers, Brayden Sturm had 16 points, five rebounds, and eight assists, and Noah Vogel had 11 points.
MLA/C's perimeter defense was particularly strong in the first half, holding Springfield to zero 3s and scoring a total of 24 points. The Tigers led 37-24 entering the second half, but the Wolverines got within 45-30 early in the second half.
Vogel took the lid off the Tigers' hoop and hit the team's first 3-pointer 14:06 into the game. This started the momentum for Springfield, who outscored MLA/C 8-4 with two free throws from Burkle.
Springfield continued to push, but the Wolverines' good offense kept them up to about 10 points for several minutes. Potter made a 3-pointer with 1:41 left to get within 11 points, followed by a 3-pointer from Sturm and a convert-and-one from Burkle to cut the lead to 77-72 with 1:08 left. .
But Springfield couldn't keep the scoring going, and even though the Wolverines made 5 of 10 on bonus free throws, two free throws by Isaac Fredin-Jensen left the Tigers in the game's final seconds. was the only point collected.
Despite ending the season with a loss, Coach Larson said his team exceeded expectations from the start of the year, winning eight games and a share of the Tomahawk Conference title.
“I talked to the kids and asked them if they thought we were going to go 21-8, are they being honest with themselves? Not one of them raised their hand.” Larson said. “Overall, we had a good season. We fought through injuries and fought through the slow starts. Some kids stepped up, some didn’t play the roles we wanted, but we is also part of basketball. We only have five games to play… We had a successful season. We took a step forward and we have a good core back, so let's see what that future brings. ”
