Goodhue knocks off Grand Meadow in Section 1A West title game
Published 1:03 pm Saturday, February 27, 2016
Grand Meadow’s Michael Stejskal handles the ball in the paint against Goodhue in Mayo Civic Center Saturday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
ROCHESTER – The No. 2 seeded Grand Meadow boys basketball team struggled out of the gates and that proved costly as its season came to an end in a 66-44 loss to top-seeded Goodhue in the Section 1A West title game in Mayo Civic Center Saturday.
The Superlarks (22-6 overall) held a 6-5 lead early on, but the Wildcats (21-9 overall) used a 23-3 surge over the next 10 minutes to seize control of the game. GM recovered to get as close as 27-14 with four minutes left, but then the Wildcats used a 14-5 run to close the half and put it out of reach.
Grand Meadow’s Terrell Rieken goes up for a shot against Goodhue’s Ben Opsahl in Mayo Civic Center Saturday. Rocky Hulne/sports@austindailyherald.com
“I don’t want to say it’s impossible [to comeback against Goodhue], but it’s darn close,” GM head coach Bob Burmester said. “They’re so patient offensively and they didn’t take a bad shot. They move the ball around and they can take a minute off the clock. A five point lead for them is like a 10 point lead for most teams.”
GM was led by Michael Stejskal, who had 11 points and eight rebounds and Connor King had 11 points, three rebounds and two assists.
It was a big run for GM to get to the Section 1A West finals, considering it hadn’t won a playoff game in each of its previous three seasons.
“I think it’s a huge building block for our program. It’s the first time we’ve won a playoff game since I’ve been here and I think it’s a big step,” Burmester said.
GM 19 27 – 46
Goodhue 41 25 – 66
GM scoring: Michael Stejskal, 11; Connor King, 11; Reid Buschmann, 8; Trevor Sloan, 6; Terrell Rieken, 5; Carter King, 3; Mark Cotten, 2; free throws: 58 percent (7-for-12); rebounds: 19; turnovers: 10
