1A semis: Rushford-Peterson, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton advance

By Jim Paulsen

Star Tribune

      Because he's a 6-6 sophomore still growing into his body, the development of Rushford-Peterson's Matt Ulrich has been a deliberate process. Trojans boys' basketball coach Tom Vix resisted the urge to give Ulrich spot duty on the varsity, preferring instead to let him log experience on the B-squad.

      That patience paid off handsomely in Rushford-Peterson's 58-40 victory over Cass Lake-Bena in Friday's first Class 1A semifinal. Ulrich, who had scored only 20 points in seven previous games, scored 14 in the second half to help the Trojans break open a close game.

      The Trojans (20-11), many of whom played on the Class 1A champion football team, will play defending state champion Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (27-3) in today's championship game at noon. The Knights held off a furious rally to defeat Marshall County Central 52-44 in the second semifinal.

• Key player: Ulrich made seven of nine shots, all of them layups as a result of the Trojans' ability to break the Cass Lake-Bena press.

      "We always want to go big as much as we can, but we had to be very patient with Matt," Vix said. "I'd rather have him play four quarters on the B-squad and develop there than sit on the bench most of the season."

      "I was kind of surprised to get so many chances," said Ulrich, who played most of the second half because starting center Adam Norton was on the bench with foul trouble. "But I didn't really have time to think about it too much."

      Ulrich's production was largely because of the press-breaking ability of teammates Alex Mierau and Tyler Drinkall. Trailing 25-21 at halftime, Cass Lake-Bena (24-7) came out in the second half with a three-quarter-court trap, hoping to create turnovers and get some easy baskets.

      "We're used to scoring a few more points, but when the offense isn't coming easily, you need to change some things," Cass Lake-Bena coach Dan Ninham said.

      The strategy backfired. Cass Lake had been able to stay close in the first half because of its ability to recover quickly in its half-court defense. Forced to cover a larger portion of the court, the Panthers left too many open paths to the basket. Mierau and Drinkall combined for seven assists in the second half, mostly on passes to Ulrich.

      "Matt played really great for us," Drinkall said. "He finished off plays and played great defense. He did what we needed him to do."

            Norton added 12 points for the Trojans and Drinkall 10 to go along with 14 rebounds. Guard Bill Brown led Cass Lake-Bena with 12 points.

Russ.-Tyler-Ruth. 52, Marshall Co. Cen. 44

       If ever there was a time for experience to come into play, it was in the fourth quarter of the Knights' victory.

       Until then, things had been progressing well. The defending Class 1A champions had broken open a close game with a 13-0 run in the third quarter and led 40-24 after Matt Hook hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in the period.

• Key stretch: "We told our kids going into the fourth quarter that they had to expect a run," Russell-Tyler-Ruthton coach Ted Kern said.

      They might have heard him, but it also might not have mattered. Marshall County Central (22-9) began the fourth quarter with an active full-court press that started an 11-0 run. Before the Knights were able to regroup, they saw their seemingly smooth road to the championship game get a whole lot bumpier.

      "We did some really stupid things," guard Kyle Minett said. "I missed a layup, we missed some free throws. Just things we normally don't do."

      But the Knights did have last year's state tournament experience to fall back on. And when Minett hit a short jumper to end Marshall County Central's run and followed it with a rebound and a pass to Travis Schultz that led to a fast-break dunk, the Knights earned some breathing room. They held off the Nordics by making eight of 13 free throws down the stretch.

      "Being here before helps," said Minett, who led the Knights with 14 points, including nine in a row in the third quarter. "We had the confidence to handle runs like that."

Brett Newton added 11 points, making five of six free throws in the final minutes, for the Knights. Jay Maurstad led Marshall County Central with 23 points, and Dustin Monsebroten added 12 points, nine in the Nordics' fourth-quarter run.

      "We played with so much heart tonight," Marshall County Central coach Jason Rantanen said. "We got close at the end, and a shot or two either way might have made it a different story."