SUB-SECTION 3A BOYS’ BASKETBALL, ROUND 2: SWC 93, TMB 48
TMB’s season comes to an end to South’s No. 2 seed, 93-40
After knocking off Adrian/ Ellsworth on Thursday night, the Panthers headed to Worthington to face the No. 2 seed Southwest Christian Eagles in the next round of playoffs. Despite a close game to start and some good basketball against a much taller team, the Panthers couldn’t keep up with the Eagles and fell 93-48 to end their season on Saturday.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick lead with the first of their 15 three pointers on the night. Sy Sanders had a bucket down low and a Griffin Zick basket gave the Panthers the 8-6 lead just under 3 minutes into the game. That was the last time the Panthers would have the advantage.
The Eagles bounced back to tie it off a TMB turnover and take the lead on another turnover. The Panthers turned the ball over 26 times compared to the Eagles’ 13. The Eagles took charge of the game, going on an 18-5 run to build a commanding 26-13 lead.
Baskets by Eli Lightfoot, Zick and Jackson Kruse worked to slow down the Eagles, but for each Panther basket, the Eagles were answering on their own end. The Eagles scored eight straight in the last 2 minutes of the half to take a 53-30 lead into the break.
They didn’t slow down to start the second half, quickly matching the Panthers bucket for bucket and adding a few extras off TMB turnovers. The Eagles started the second half with a 15-5 run.
The Panthers were only able to find the net for 18 points in the second half and were eliminated by the Eagles.
TMB was led by Zick’s 14 points and Kruse’s 10. The Panthers ended the season with a 12-16 record and lose four seniors to graduation. Coach Ryan Kruse shared his thoughts on his seniors after the game — players he coached as seventh-graders.
Sy Sanders: “ He did such a great job throughout his career of getting himself able to play. He’s a 6’1” post player. The only way he could play is if he worked his butt off in the weight room and he did. Through the last few years, he really worked hard on his foot work on the post. He learned how to pass out of the post and he was a really big part of our offense even when he didn’t score. He’s a fun kid to have around.”
Griffin Zick: “ He’s just a competitor. He just wants to do well and win. He pushes himself and his teammates. Came in this year and was under 500 points. I wasn’t thinking he’d get that. He ended up averaging 21 a game. It just shows how well he scores the basketball. He was also our best defender. He never gets a break. He does a really good job with everything. He did a lot of good things throughout the years.”
Connor Lanoue: “This guy could not love basketball or any sport any more. Whatever he’s doing he just puts everything into it. He’d be at practice, go to open gym, I’d drive by his house at 8:30 p.m. and he’d be out shooting. He just doesn’t stop because he wants to keep getting better. This year, he took over as point guard. He’s going to play at Bethany Lutheran and it’s going to be a great fit. A great kid that we’re going to miss.”
Eli Lightfoot: “He loves playing basketball but he loves a lot of things. He’s just a well-rounded person that can do a lot of things. Another person that probably wouldn’t have played if he hadn’t found the weight room. He just turned himself into an athletic rim protector all season.”
TMB 30 18 — 48 SWC 53 40 — 93 TMB
Sanders 1-3 0-1 2, Zick 5-15 4-7 15, Carson Lanoue 1-3 0-0 2, Connor Lanoue 3-11 1-2 9, Xiong 1-2 0-0 2, Kruse 4-10 0-0 10, Sanow 2-3 0-0 6, Lightfoot 1-4 0-0 2, Petersen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 18-52 7-24 48. Threepointers: 7-24 (Sanow 2-2, Kruse 2-6, Connor Lanoue 2-6, Zick 1-8, Xiong 0-1). Assists: 16 (Connor Lanoue 6, Carson Lanoue 3, Zick 2, Xiong 2, Lightfoot, Sanders, Sanow). Rebounds: 27 (Sanow 6, Lightfoot 5, Zick 4, Sanders 3, Connor Lanoue 3, Kruse 3, Carson Lanoue 2, Carlson). Steals: 6 (Connor Lanoue 2, Sanders, Zick, Kruse, Sanow).
