The Spring Grove boys missed their final four shots, all 3-point attempts, and the abbreviated 2021 season ended with a low-scoring 38-36 elimination loss in the March 16 section opener against Wabasha-Kellogg. In the only first-round upset, No. 5 seed Spring Grove was outshot at home by the No. 12 seed.
The Lion defense did its job, allowing only 38 points, very close to the season average of 36. But SG scored well below its season scoring average of 57 points per game. Ball-handling was superb until the final three minutes. Not getting to the foul line and missing shots from the field was a destructive combination against a hot-shooting underdog. Wabasha-Kellogg overcame early turnovers with sizzling shooting, and then changed defenses to temper the Lion attack.
Seeding the Class A Falcons was difficult, since their undistinguished 3-12 record came against mostly larger Class AA squads and included only two games against Class A competition. Just like the Lions, they had lost to Rushford-Peterson and defeated Lanesboro, the only two common opponents during the regular season.
Wabasha-Kellogg was not a typical No. 12 seed,” said Lion coach Wade Grinde. “They played a much tougher schedule and had been battle tested with mostly juniors and seniors. Our youth, lack of strength and depth compounded with bad shooting led to the loss. All season long, we had a slim margin for error. Wabasha-Kellogg was just a bad matchup for us, and we didn’t earn the right to advance.”
Shooting 52% from the field usually produces victory as it did for the Falcons, but barely. The visitors had to shoot that well, because they attempted only 30 shots (fouled once) – the fewest of any Lion opponent this season. There was an assist on all 16 Falcon field goals.
Spring Grove came in shooting 46% for the season but managed only 35% against W-K. It was almost enough. The Lions hit two of their first four shots beyond the 3-point arc, but they went only 1 for 15 from downtown the rest of the night and finished with a season-low 36 points. Yet, it was almost enough. The Falcons sank 6 of 16 treys (38%) while winning with only 38 points.
Grove finished with only 10 fouls and limited the visitors to only three free throws (2 for 3) all game. But the Falcons drew only eight whistles, and the Lions attempted only one free throw the entire night – their fewest in 15 seasons. W-K outscored Spring Grove by one point from the foul line and by one point from the field.
Depth was an early challenge for the Lions, who normally use only six players. The Lions were whistled only four times in the first half, but Carson Gerard drew the first two and Hunter Holland the next two. Only three and half minutes into the game, Gerard went to the bench for the final 14:35 of the first half. With little varsity experience still left on the bench, Holland remained on the floor.
It was a tale of two halves. The Lions led by nine (15-6) after an early flurry of W-K turnovers. When the Falcons extended their defense, Elijah Solum and Tysen Grinde made them pay with dribble drive baskets. But W-K remained in contention with three 3-point buckets from sophomore Parker Springer. Grove led 23-16 at halftime.
“We survived the first half playing man-to-man (defense),” said W-K coach Alex Borschatz, “and keeping it within single digits, and got that big bucket before the half ended. Going into the second half, we know we wanted to play zone for a decent chunk of the game, and when we went to the zone, it kind of changed the dynamic of the game. Our senior Kedron Reimers used his length brilliantly on top of our zone and kind of slowed the ball reversals and took Grove out of their comfort zone a little bit. And it affected their ball movement. They got their looks, make no mistake, but I think we did a nice job of knowing their strengths and making them do something that was outside of their bubble. It was one of those games where we had some keys going into the game that we knew we had to execute and a game plan that we followed to a “T” as a staff. “
When the Falcons changed to a zone defense shortly after the break, the Lions scored with only one more dribble drive and began to rely more on 3-point shots. Only one trey dropped in the second half, but it was almost enough.
The Lions would add only 13 points in the second half, shooting only 26% after 44% in the first half. W-K scored the first six points after intermission and pulled ahead 27-25 about halfway through the second half. The lead would change hands four more times.
A jump shot from Solum gave SG a 36-33 lead with just over four minutes to play. But the Lions would not score again. After only four turnovers through the first 32 minutes, Spring Grove committed three straight turnovers before Adam Dunagan hit his only 3-ball to put W-K ahead 38-36 with 2:05 on the clock.
With 80 seconds to play, the Falcons went into a delay offense, but two turnovers (including a steal by Caden Grinde) gave Spring Grove a chance. In the final 13 seconds, three different Lions could not get a 3-pointer to go in, and it was over.
Solum, the Spring Grove Pop Player of the Game (KVIK Radio), finished with 13 points. Caden Grinde added 9 points along with 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 2 assists with no turnovers. For W-K, Springer led with 13 points with Reimers contributing 9. Dunagan had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
“I think Adam Dunagan was our MVP on the night,” added Borschatz. “He handled their pressure very well, he hit the go-ahead 3 with two minutes left and also fouled Grinde saving a breakaway dunk with our turnover at the 13 second mark. He made some big plays all over the court for us when it mattered.
“All in all, I’m sure the Lions didn’t expect that type of game with us, if you look at our record without looking at our schedule, you would think we were a softer team. This group has gotten better and better all year and is a team we would have loved to have a longer season because our growth still has room to go. None of these guys had played together as a unit until our season opener due to covid, so we’ve been behind the ball a little all season. We’ve dealt with injuries all season and are finally full strength and starting to gel.”
W-K ended a four-game losing streak against Spring Grove, all occurring during postseason play. Six of the teams’ nine-game series have been playoff contests. Two years ago, the Lions had eliminated the Falcons, 45-24, but W-K now leads the series, 5 to 4.
Two nights after the upset at Spring Grove, the Falcons would end their season the same way it had begun the season. In the section quarterfinals, Wabasha-Kellogg lost at No. 4 seed Rushford-Peterson by 26 points (54-28). The Trojans had trounced W-K by 25 (60-35) in the season opener.
For the Lion lads, it was a rare but second straight first-round loss. Last year, #9 Spring Grove lost at #8 Southland. It was in 2004 and 2005 the last time the Lions lost playoff openers in successive seasons (both times to lower seeds). Since that time, Spring Grove has won 13 of 16 first-round games.
It was the final Spring Grove basketball game for a trio of seniors – Caden Grinde, Isaac Gengler and Tristan Hammel.
>>VARSITY: SG 36, WK 38
>>SG 23+13=36
>>WK 16+22=38
all FG: SG 35% (16-46), WK 52% (15-29); 2-pt. FG: SG 48% (13-27), WK 69% (9-13); 3-pt. FG: SG 16% (3-19), WK 38% (6-16); Free throws: SG 100% (1-1), WK 67% (2-3); Rebounds: SG 18, WK 17; Turnovers: SG 7, WK 16; 2nd Chance points: SG 8, WK 0; Fast break points: SG 6, WK 9; Points in paint: SG 23, WK 20; Greatest lead: SG 9, WK 3; Fouls: SG 10, WK 8
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. *Caden Grinde 9P, 7R, 2A, 4S; *Tysen Grinde 4P, 4R, 3A, 2S; *Hunter Holland 2P, 1R, 1S; *Carson Gerard 5P, 3R, 1B; Jaxon Strinmoen 3P, 2S; *Elijah Solum13P, 3R, 1A
—————————————————-
>>SEC EAST DIVISION
Spring Grove*………12-2 SEC, 13-3 season
Randolph……………. 10-5 SEC, 11-6 season
Lanesboro 7-7 SEC, 7-11 season
Schaeffer Academy 6-8 SEC, 6-9 season
Mabel-Canton 4-11 SEC, 5-13 season
Houston 0-15 SEC, 0-17 season
* champion East Division
>>SEC WEST DIVISION
Lyle/Pacelli…………15-1 SEC, 16-2 season
Southland…………..12-2 SEC, 15-2 season
Grand Meadow 8-6 SEC, 9-6 season
LeRoy-Ostrander 6-7 SEC, 7-7 season
Kingsland 3-11 SEC, 3-12 season
Glenville-Emmons 0-8 SEC, 0-8 season
————————————————
Varsity Boys Basketball 2021). >>13-4 season, 12-2 SEC
W at Grand Meadow 45-41
W vs Mabel-Canton 57-31
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 67-28
W at Houston 86-35
L at Randolph 47-52
W at Schaeffer Academy 59-43
W vs. Houston 64-15
W vs. Randolph 67-54
W at Mabel-Canton 60-24
W at Lanesboro 67-39
W vs. Lanesboro 63-24
W vs. Fillmore Central 68-47
L at Lyle/Pacelli 38-51
W vs. Southland 61-54
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 40-46
03/11 at Glenville-Emmons, canceled
W vs. Kingsland 60-24
—-SECTION 1A
L vs. Wabasha-Kellogg 36-38
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B-team Boys Basketball 2021. >>6 wins, 7 losses
W at Grand Meadow 56-30
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 38-22
W at Houston 53-12
L at Randolph 44-47 (OT)
L at Schaeffer Academy 33-36
W vs. Houston 48-6
L vs. Randolph 17-39
W at Mabel-Canton 55-17
L at Lanesboro 31-43
L vs. Lanesboro 42-44
L vs. Fillmore Central 38-42
L at Lyle/Pacelli 30-42
W vs. Kingsland 40-29
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8th Grade Boys Basketball 2021 >>10 wins, 1 loss
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 29-13
W at Houston 35-15
W at Schaeffer Academy 39-23
W at Mabel-Canton 37-16
W vs. Randolph 23-20
W at Lanesboro 34-16
W vs. Lanesboro 35-23
W vs. Fillmore Central 38-13
W vs. Houston 33-5
W vs. Mabel-Canton 44-24
L vs. Kingsland 15-27
————————————
7th Grade Boys Basketball 2021 >>3 wins, 7 losses
L at Houston 24-34
L at Mabel-Canton 23-39
L vs. Randolph 11-42
L at Lanesboro 32-38
W vs. Lanesboro 35-23
L vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 28-33
W vs. Fillmore Central 35-26
W vs. Houston 30-22
L vs. Mabel-Canton 19-31
L vs. Kingsland 21-41
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