Vikings top Canby, routed by CMCS in 3A-North playoffs

Central Minnesota Christian showed why it is the top-seeded team in the Section 3A-North tournament. The Bluejays shot a scorching 68 percent from the field en route to a convincing 70-36 victory over Minneota in the quarterfinals Saturday morning in Montevideo.
Although the Vikings finished with a 6-22 record, the youthful team improved substantially throughout the season.
Cale Sorensen, the lone senior on the team, led the team in scoring throughout the season and was an example to the younger players how hard work and determination pays off.
"Playing basketball is one of my favorite things to do, so it was really fun this season," said Sorensen. "I enjoyed playing with the young guys this season. It taught me a lot, such as how to become a leader on some scale, how to enjoy the game when it is not going great, etc."
Sorensen believes all the experience these young players got this season will be beneficial to the upcoming seasons.
"I'm so proud of these young guys," he said. "They all improved and stepped up when they needed to. I'm very thankful for my teammates and they are going to be a force to be reckoned with."
The Vikings started out the game against CMCS strong, leading 6-4 on a close-range shot by Sawyer DeSmet. But the quick and talented Bluejays then took over, going on a 10-0 run led by Ben VanEps' two 3-pointers.
CMCS connected on six triples in the first half and led 39-17 at intermission. They finished by hitting a robust 9 of 13 from beyond the arc for the game, 69.2 percent.
VanEps and Cade Mulder led CMCS with 21 points apiece, combing to make 15 of 21 shots. Ethan Bulthuis notched 15 points.
Sorensen had 14 points to lead the Vikings, sinking 6 of 8 shots from the field, including a pair of three-pointers.
Max Rost contributed eight points, DeSmet six, Anthony Rybinski four, Jackson Lacek three and Peyton Sheik one.
"We most definitely improved throughout the season," Sorensen reflected. "We were 100 percent playing our best basketball towards the end of the season. I felt we were as good as anyone in the section, and felt going into the CMCS game that we were very capable of winning. We just didn't play well enough that day to get it done."
CMCS now faces Lac qui Parle Valley in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 10 at SMSU. Lakeview meets Dawson-Boyd in the other semifinal game at 7:30 p.m.

CMCS 70, Minneota 36
CMCS........................................................39 31 - 70
Minneota..................................................17 19 - 36

Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Central Minnesota Christian 25-for-37, 67.6 percent. Minneota 15-for-35, 42.9 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Central Minnesota Christian 9-for-13, 69.2 percent. Minneota 3-for-15, 20.0 percent ... Rebounds: Central Minnesota Christian 41, Minneota 31.

CMCS Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Ethan Bulthuis 4-7 6-10 16, Dannen 0-0 1-2 1, Dehmler 0-0 1-2 1, Drew Duininck 1-1 0-0 2, Harrington 0-0 0-0 0, Harrington 0-0 0-0 0, Brayden Marcus 2-2 0-0 5, Cade Mulder 6-9 8-9 21, Rime 0-1 0-0 0, VanderBeek 1-2 1-1 3, Ben VanEps 9-12 0-0 21 ... 3-pointers: Bulthuis 4, VanEps 3, Marcus 1, Mulder 1 ... Rebound leader: not available ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leader: not available.

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Ryan Dalage 0-7 0-0 0, Garet DeBoer 0-0 0-1 0, Sawyer DeSmet 3-6 0-2 6, Jackson Lacek 1-1 0-0 3, Anthony Rybinski 1-2 2-2 4, Max Rost 4-10 0-0 8, Peyton Sheik 0-1 1-2 1, Cale Sorensen 6-8 0-2 14 ... 3-pointers: Sorensen 2, Lacek 1 ... Rebounds: not available ... Assists: not available ... Steals: not available

Minneota 69, Canby 59
(Result Thursday, March 3)
Minneota (6-21) poured in 42 points in the second half and went to beat the Lancers (5-21) for the third time this season.
Four players finished in double figures in scoring for the Vikings. Peyton Sheik led the way with 17 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Max Rost had 14 points and eight rebounds, Anthony Rybinski finished with 13 points and Cale Sorensen notched 10 points and eight rebounds.
Rybinski sprained his ankle with 1:31 left in the game and had to be helped off the court and did not return.
The teams battled back and forth in the first half with the lead changing hands nine times until they settled into a 27-27 halftime deadlock.
They exchanged leads five more times to start the second half until the Vikings took the lead for good at 34-33 on a short turnaround jumper by Sawyer DeSmet that started an 8-0 run.
Rost followed with close-range jumper, followed by two free throws from Sheik, and a close-range shot from Garet DeBoer to make it 40-33.
Canby was never able to whittle the deficit under five points the rest of the way, The Lancers were able to stay close most of the way by hitting nine total 3-pointers from six different players.
Trevor Gray led Canby with 14 points, followed by Michael Tol with 11, Evan Weber with 10 and Kolton Duis with nine.
DeSmet finished with four points and eight rebounds for the Vikings. DeBoer had five points, Ryan Dalager four and Jackson Lacek two.

(MINNEOTA 69, CANBY 59)
Canby........................................................27 32 - 59
Minneota..................................................27 42 - 69

Team Statistics
Field goal shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Canby 20-for-58, 34.5 percent. Minneota 22-for-52, 42.3 percent ... 3-point shooting (good-attempts-pct.): Canby 9-for-26, 34.6 percent. Minneota 3-for-8, 37.5 percent ... Rebounds: Canby 23, Minneota 37.

Canby Individual Statistics
Scoring (total points): Aaron Bueltel 2, Kolton Duis 9, Trevor Gray 14, Dyland Houseman 7, Zach Ourada 3, Ty Stoks 2, Michael Tol 11, Evan Weber 10 ... 3-pointers: Duis 2, Gray 2, Tol 2, Housemark 1, Ourada 1, Weber 1 ... Rebound leader: Gray 4 ... Assist leader: not available ... Steal leader: not available.

Minneota Individual Statistics
Scoring (fgm-fga ftm-fta points): Ryan Dalager 2-4 0-2 4, Garet DeBoer 2-3 1-2 5, Sawyer DeSmet 2-4 0-0 4, Jackson Lacek 0-0 2-2 2, Anthony Rybinski 3-9 7-12 13, Max Rost 4-8 5-8 14, Peyton Sheik 5-10 5-8 17, Cale Sorensen 4-14 2-8 10 ... 3-pointers: Sheik 2, Rost 1 ... Rebounds: DeSmet 8, Sorensen 8, Rost 8, Sheik 7, Dalager 4, Rybinski 2 ... Assists: not available ... Steals: Sheik 6, Sorensen 2, Rost 2, Rybinski 2, DeBoer 1

SECTION 3A-NORTH
(First round March 3)
1. Minneota 69, Canby 59
2. MACCRAY 93, Yellow Medicine East 69
(Quarterfinals March 5 at Montevideo)
3. CMCS 70, Minneota 36
4. Lac qui Parle Valley 69 Wabasso 59, OT
5. Lakeview 73, MACCRAY 52
6. Dawson-Boyd 90, Renville County West 52
(Semifinals March 10 at SMSU)
7. CMCS vs. Lac qui Parle Valley, 6 p.m.
8. Lakeview vs. Dawson-Boyd, 7:30 p.m.
(Final March 12 at SMSU)
9. Winner-7 vs. Winner-8, 8 p.m.

SECTION 3A-SOUTH
(First round March 3)
1. Red Rock Central 60, Adrian-Ellsworth 58
2. Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda 76, Edgerton 48
(Quarterfinals March 5 at Worthington)
3. Southwest Christian 79, Red Rock Central 37
4. Westbrook-Walnut Grove 52, Murray County Central 47
5. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 78, HLOF 52
6. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 81, Hills-Beaver Creek 67
(Semifinals March 10 at Worthington)
7. SW Christian vs. Westbrook-WG, 6 p.m.
8. RTR vs. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton, 7:30 p.m.
(Final March 12 at Worthington)
9. Winner-7 vs. Winner-8, 6 p.m.

SECTION 3A
(Championship March 17 at SMSU)
10. 3A-North winner vs. 3A-South winner, 5 p.m.