RTR wins Class A state title
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton used a 19-2 run in the first half of their championship match-up with No. 2 North Woods and then assembled a game-defining 21-6 spree in the second half on the way to a 59-55 state championship win.
Senior forward Westin Kirk scored 18 points, including eight in the second half when the Knights (33-1) erased a three-point deficit, en route to capturing the Class A crown for the first time since winning the second of two consecutive championships in 2005.
North Woods (31-2) was attempting to become the first program from the Iron Range to win a boys’ basketball state title since Chisholm in 1991. The Grizzlies finished as the Class A runner-up for the second consecutive season.
Junior guard Carter Hansen gave the Knights some breathing room when he made two free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining to give RTR a 58-55 lead.
Moments earlier, North Woods junior guard Chase Kleppe missed the back end of a 1-and-1 that maintained RTR’s one-point lead. Hansen capped the championship run on a single free throw with six-tenths of a second left in regulation.
Hansen finished with 13 points and senior forward Garrett Kern added 12. North Woods used a 23-5 to end the first half to build a 33-30 lead at the break. Junior guard Cade Goggleye had 10 points in the opening 18 minutes on 4-of-8 shooting.
He also had three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Senior guard Brendan Parson added nine points and senior forward Tate Olson had eight. Olson finished with 15 points and Goggleye added 13.
The North Woods surge came on the heels of a 19-2 run for RTR. Senior forward Westin Kirk had 10 points and five rebounds in the first half for the Knights. Junior guard Carter Hansen added seven.
RTR 49, Mayer Lutheran 38
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, got into the finals with a 49-38 victory over No. 1 Mayer Lutheran. Junior guard Carter Hansen led the way for the Knights (32-1) with 18 points and 1 rebounds. Senior forward Garrett Kern and senior forward Westin Kirk added 10 points each to send Russell-Tyler-Ruthton to the Class A championship game for the first time since 2005 when the program won the second of back-to-back Class A crowns.
The Knights built a 15-point cushion at the halftime break by coaxing the Crusaders (28-4) into 12 turnovers and 19.2 percent shooting from the field. Hansen had 11 points and eight rebounds at the break to go along with an assist, a steal and a block.
Mayer Lutheran tried to carve into the deficit in the second half, and did increase its shooting to 33.3 percent in the final 18 minutes, but couldn’t catch the Knights. Junior guard Baden Noening led the Crusaders with 15 points and 11 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals.
RTR 87, Hinckley-Finlayson 70
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton held off a second half comeback by Hinckley-Finlayson, advancing with a 87-70 win.
The Knights were led by senior forward Garrett Kern’s 26 points, making 13-17 from the field. His only four misses were from three-point range, where he still connected on three (3-7). He added five rebounds and three steals.
Four starters hit double figures for RTR with senior forward Westin Kirk scoring 18 points on 8-12 shooting and junior guard Carter Hansen adding 16 points on 6-10 shooting to go with eight rebounds and three steals.
Together, the trio combined to shoot 69.2 percent (27-39) from the field as the Knights shot 59.3 percent (32-54) as a team. Hinckley-Finlayson featured four players in double figures as well, led by senior forward Travis Visser’s double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, adding six assists, three steals and three blocks.
He was eight of 14 from the field. Junior forward Lavone Kroschel added 15 points in 19 minutes off the bench, contributing seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.
Senior guard Kolten Furey dropped in four three-pointers as the Jaguars were hot from the arc as a team, shooting it at 47.6 percent (10-21) clip.
The first was closely played with a pair of ties and eight lead changes before RTR pulled ahead 46-34, turning a slim three-point lead with 8:24 to play in the half (24-21) into a 13-point advantage with 6:21 to the break (34-21).
RTR held an 18-point lead with 15:03 to play and 17-point lead with 12:49 left before a 10-0 Jaguar run cut the lead to seven with 11:05 to go. While they were able to cut the seven point lead down three times in the second half (11:05, 6:51, 5:45), they couldn’t get it any closer before the Knights pulled away late.
ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: RTR players named to the Class A All-Tourney team were: Westin Kirk, Cooper Hansen and Garrett Kern.