Loboes frustrate No. 2 Rebels defensively in OT upset
Feb. 28—LaMoure/Litchville-Marion freshman Max Musland is a man of few words, but hitting game-winning shots in overtime doesn't have a thing to do with talking.
Musland's 3-pointer at 1 minute, 28 seconds into the extra session Saturday was essentially all the scoring the Loboes would need in OT to take down second-ranked Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier, 49-46, in the semifinals of the District 5 boys basketball tournament at the Jamestown Civic Center.
Tied at 44-44 at the end of regulation, LLM held the Rebels to 1-for-9 shooting from the field in the four-minute OT, putting an exclamation point on an impressive defensive effort for the 15-6 Loboes. Musland finished with just six points — two triples — on five total shots, but the green light was on for the freshman.
"Well, I'm on the team to shoot 3-pointers," Musland said. "So, I suppose that's what I had to do."
LLM frustrated the Rebels all night, forcing EKM to miss its first eight shots attempted in OT and 12 of 13 3-pointers attempted in the game. A Rebels' bucket scored in the final second by Paxton Mathern kept the tournament's top seed from going scoreless in the extra frame.
EKM's Alex Huber scored 22 points in the game on 9 of 19 shots from the field and 4 of 5 at the line, but even the talented Huber found it tough going at times against LLM's 2-3 matchup zone.
"They just did a heckuva job finding their assignments," said LLM coach Darren Thielges. "That was what we had trouble with earlier in the year was sticking to our assignments in our defense, and they've got a feel for it now."
The bank was open for LLM's Carter Bowman in the first quarter, which was a good thing. Bowman's 3-pointer from the left side broke up an 8-1 start by the Rebels and accounted for LLM's only field goal of the period.
EKM led 10-4 after one quarter, but LLM kept with the 3-point trend. Bowman, Landon Piehl and Musland all connected from distance in the second, with Musland's 3 splashing through to end the half 20-19 Rebels.
The lead changed hands nine times in the game and EKM fought back from six-points down in the fourth to take a 44-41 lead behind a 10-2 run. But the Loboes wouldn't go away.
A Landon Piehl 3-pointer — the Loboes third 3 of the fourth — tied the game at 44-44 with 2:08 remaining, setting up the four-minute OT.
"An overtime game, you're talking one possession," said EKM coach Kevin Strobel. "There's a lot of possessions you can look at, whether it's made free throws, missed free throws, made shots ... That's just the game of basketball."
The Rebels hadn't played in nine days, receiving the tournament's first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, but Strobel wouldn't use that as an excuse. The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak for the 18-2 Rebels.
"LaMoure beat us tonight," Strobel said. "They play that zone and they're really good at it. I don't think we moved the ball as well as we probably should've, or as well as the first time we played them. We just had a lot of contested shots on offense."
The Loboes received six points or more from six players, led by Colton Ness scoring 11 and Charlie Bowman tossing in 10. Converting 8 of 16 from beyond the arc was key for the Loboes, who don't start a senior and also knocked off previously No. 1-ranked Enderlin earlier in the season.
"It was just like that game," Musland said. "We just had to do what we do and play till the end. We had to help down on Huber when he was in the high post and stuff to limit his touches a little bit."
"We just coach the guys to believe in themselves," Thielges added. "With a young crew sometimes you have your ups and your downs, but if you just go out there and continue to compete that's what we try to stress."
The Rebels are trying to repeat as Region 3 champions this season, after being denied the chance to advance to a state tournament last season due to COVID-19. But if a team stumbles in the postseason, the district tournament is the place to do it.
"That's what I told the kids," Strobel said. "We're still alive; we still got a chance to get our ticket to regions and then we'll go from there."
EKM will play Griggs-Midkota (5-16) in a region qualifier on Monday at 6 p.m. The Rebels advanced to the region through a qualifier last season.
The Loboes will be gunning for a second district tournament championship in three seasons on Monday against Oakes at 7:30. The Tornadoes defeated the Loboes by 18 points earlier this month.
"It's a big win just for our confidence purposes, to beat another good team like that," Thielges said. "But we want to win championships and that's what we're trying to get into these guys."
District 5 Boys Basketball Tournament
At Jamestown Civic Center
(2) Edgeley/Kulm/Montpelier 49, LaMoure/Litchville-Marion 46 (OT)
LLM 4 15 12 13 5 — 49
EKM 10 10 12 12 2 — 46
LLM — Colton Ness 11, Charlie Bowman 10, Carter Bowman 8, Corban Potts 8, Max Musland 6, Landon Piehl 6. Totals: 17-36 FG, 8-16 3-pointers (Charlie Bowman 2, Musland 2, Carter Bowman 2, Piehl 2), 7-11 FT, 23 Rebounds (Charlie Bowman 6), 17 fouls, 1 Assist (Potts), 11 Turnovers, 8 Steals (Charlie Bowman 3, Piehl 3).
EKM — Alex Huber 22, Chayse Entzi 7, Adam Nitschke 6, Dalton Madcke 4, Paxton Mathern 4, Jorgen Paulson 3. Totals: 19-50 FG, 1-13 3-pointers (Nitschke), 7-15 FT, 27 Rebounds (Huber 8), 14 Fouls, 10 Assists (Madcke 4), 10 Turnovers, 3 Blocks (Entzi 2), 6 Steals (Jacob Nitschke 2, Mathern 2).
Records: LaMoure/LM 15-6. EKM 18-2.
(Tournament seeds in parentheses)
Feb. 26
G1: (4) LaMoure/LM 56, (5) Carrington 33
G2: (2) Ellendale 59, (7) Griggs/Midkota 39
G3: (3) Oakes 56, (6) BCN 38
Feb. 27
G4: Griggs/Midkota 67, BCN 63 (OT)
G5: LaMoure/LM 49, (1) Edgeley/KM 46 (OT)
G6: Oakes 65, Ellendale 63 (OT)
March 1
Region 3 qualifier: Carrington vs. Ellendale, 4:30 p.m.
Region 3 qualifier: Griggs-Midkota vs. Edgeley/KM, 6 p.m.
Championship: LaMoure/LM vs. Oakes, 7:30 p.m.
District 6 Boys Basketball Tournament
At Wishek High School
(Tournament seeds in parentheses)
Feb. 26
G1: (5) Napoleon/GS 56, (4) Medina/PB 47
G2: (3) Kidder Co. 58 (6) South Border 33
Feb. 27
G3: (1) Linton/HMB 73, Napoleon/GS 35
G4: Kidder Co. 66, (2) Strasburg/Zeeland 57
March 1
Region 3 qualifier: Medina/PB vs. Strasburg/Zeeland, 4 p.m.
Region 3 qualifier: South Border vs. Napoleon/GS, 5:30 p.m.
Championship: Linton/HMB vs. Kidder Co., 7 p.m.