Grafton, Central Cass bounce back

Mike Hanson and Troy Roesler weren’t sure what to expect from their teams Friday.

After all, Hanson’s Grafton team had lost in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota Class B boys state high school basketball tournament Thursday after finishing second at state a year ago. And Roesler’s Central Cass team, undefeated coming into the tournament, also lost in the quarterfinals.

Both teams bounced back, however. In the consolation semifinals Friday, Grafton scored a 68-49 win against Divide County, while Central Cass topped Linton-HMB 81-68.

In consolation play Saturday, Divide County plays Linton-HMB in the seventh-place game at 1 p.m., followed by Grafton meeting Central Cass in the consolation final.

Grafton 68, Divide County 49: With its all-senior starting lineup, Grafton lost the closest first-round game, a 63-58 decision to defending state champion North Star.

I was worried about the energy level,’’ Hanson said. “We exerted a lot of energy (against North Star). We had some tired legs. That might have shown in our shooting. And maybe we were a little flat. But these guys don’t like to lose.’’

Grafton, which finished 27-of-67 (40.3 percent) from the field, broke the game open when it outscored the Maroons 22-13 in the second quarter to build a 34-22 halftime lead. Jake Hanson had six points in the quarter, while the Spoiler bench came up big — six points by Austin Contreras, four by Garek Droog and two by Christian Lunde.

“Droog and Contreras gave us a spark,’’ Mike Hanson said. “And when we went to a zone, Adam (Jiskra) got some steals at the point and that seemed to get us going.’’

Grafton held a comfortable lead of nine or more points the entire second half, leading 49-37 after three.

Jake Hanson finished with 18 points to lead Grafton Jiskra added 14 points, as well as four steals, while Droog came up just shy of a double double with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. The Spoilers also got 27 points from their reserves.

Andreas Holm was the big producer for the Maroons, finishing with game-high totals of 23 points and 14 rebounds. He also scored the 1,000th point of his career at the close of the third quarter.

Central Cass 81, Linton-HMB 68

After hitting a low for points in the season in the quarterfinals, Central Cass bounced back by reaching the 80-point mark for the eighth time in its last 11 games.

“I wasn’t sure how we’d come out,’’ Roesler said. “But they came out with fire. We were running and, as long as we’re running, we feel we have a good chance.

“These guys are gamers. They’ve been in a lot of big games.’’

Central Cass started slowly and was down 14-13 after one quarter. But the Squirrels went ahead to stay with a 27-point second quarter. Matt Zimmerman had nine of his team-leading 21 points in the quarter.

“Matt started to find his groove in the second,’’ Roesler said. “When he’s scoring, it seems like everyone else is feeling good.”

Central Cass, up 40-30 at halftime, increased its lead to 61-40 after three quarters.

In addition to Zimmerman, Central Cass, 26-1, got big games from Josh Roesler (18 points, 7 rebounds) and Ellery Bresnahan (17 points, 5 assists).

Tanner Purintun paced Linton-HMB with 24 points, with Tyler Humann adding 12 and Nathan Wieser 11.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve been this lackluster on defense,’’ Lions coach Dan Carr said. “And I think they (Squirrels) were feeling it.’’

Consolation

Grafton 68, Divide County 49

Grafton 12 34 49 68

Divide County 9 22 37 49

Grafton — Jake Hanson 18, Adam Jiskra 14, Garek Droog 14, Nic Lundquist 7, Austin Contreras 6, Christian Lunde 5, Thomas Houdek 2, Andrew Torkelson 2.

Divide County — Andreas Holm 23, Taylor Wigginton 9, Ethan Feil 6, Morgan Jacobs 5, Bennett Lystad 2, Travis Binde 2, Isaac Jacobs 2.

Central Cass 81, Linton-Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock 68

Central Cass 13 40 61 81

Linton-HMB 14 30 50 68

Central Cass — Matt Zimmerman 21, Josh Roesler 18, Ellery Bresnahan 17, Ben Sundquist 9, Joey Ueland 8, Michael Utt 5, Jon Lubbers 2, Garrett Ebach 1.

Linton-Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock — Tanner Purintun 24, Tyler Humann 12, Nathan Wieser 11, Ryan Dralle 7, Mason Ryckman 6, Cody Sehn 4, Brooks Flyberg 2, Travis Baumiller 2.

Tags: class b, sports, basketball