The Spring Grove boys saw their 2024 season end with a Fillmore Central lay-up with 3.5 seconds to play in the Section 1A quarterfinals at Rochester on March 6. The 56-55 final score came with the third lead change in the final two minutes. With the No. 7 seed, the Falcons (16-13) sizzled while sinking 13 treys. No. 2 seed Spring Grove (25-4), coming off its coldest-shooting night of the season, had a half-dozen shots blocked but still bounced back to shoot a respectable 38%. But Fillmore Central shot 50% overall, including a torrid 45% from 3-point land (13 for 29).
Photo by Lee Epps
The Lions took the lead, 55-54, with a steal and lay-up from Jaxon Strinmoen with 44 seconds remaining, their lone fast-break basket of the game. Then, Ben Udstuen rebounded a Falcon 3-point miss, but a Lion pass went out of bounds with 13 and half seconds left. Fillmore Central scrambled to get an open shot, most likely a 3-point attempt. Luke Hellickson, who had already hit five 3-pointers, won the game instead with a perfect pass, a long, laser-like pass barely between two Lion defenders to Kyle Daniels, who already beneath the basket, laid in the winning points with three and half seconds to go.
Only four Lions scored, but all in double figures. Strinmoen had a game-high 21 points while Udstuen had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. Jacob Olerud added 13 points and Elijah Solum 11. For FC, Hellickson buried five treys (5 of 14, 36%) while scoring 17 points along with 5 assists and 4 steals. Joshua Haugerud came off the bench to sink four 3-balls (4 for 5, 80%) on the way to 14 points while Daniels had 9 points. Usual Falcon starter, 6-foot-6 junior Greg Kennedy, who scored 12 points against SG earlier this season, was home ill.
The Falcons also scored the final basket of the first half to take a 33-31 lead into the break. But Fillmore Central went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half while the Lions built a 10-point lead (43-33), the greatest spread of the game. However, it was Haugerud to Fillmore’s rescue, reversing momentum with three straight 3-pointers (the last one off the backboard). The Falcons were quickly back within three points and soon thereafter, two free throws by Haugerud evened the score at 51-51 with 4:17 to play. Haugerud then had an assist as a Hellickson 3-ball broke the tie at 2:00.
Solum and Strinmoen baskets put the Lions back ahead with 44 seconds to play – before the aforementioned Spring Grove turnover and pin-point pass from Hellickson to Daniels delivered the upset.
The game began with a Lion 3-point basket (Strinmoen), but three straight treys by three different Falcons helped put FC ahead, 11-6. The Lions never regained the lead before halftime but tied it for the fourth time with 21 seconds left (Solum 3-pointer). But a Hellickson drive put the Falcons back up, 33-31, at the break.
Spring Grove came in averaging 11 turnovers a game but had 10 lost possessions before halftime but trailed only 33-31 at intermission. There were fewer turnovers (6) in the second half, but one was fatal.
Other than the Lions’ huge 33-to-19 rebounding advantage and the stream of Falcon triples, most other statistics were very close. Both teams had 16 turnovers and 11 steals. SG had 16 assists, FC 17. The Lions had 11 fouls, the Falcons 10. Each team had 20 field goals, but there were 13 Fillmore treys to eight for Grove.
Against the two zone defenses, it was most often a 3-point duel. Fillmore Central aired up 29 shots beyond the 3-point arc and amazingly, only 12 closer in. Spring Grove attempted 26 shots from downtown and 30 inside the arc. In the teams’ regular season matchup, (a 51-42 SG win), the Falcons had netted only 11% of their 3-point shots on their home court. And also in that previous game, Fillmore Central had stumbled out of the second-half gate, but without the same 3-point touch, was not able to rally back into contention.
The Falcons advance to a section final four for the first time since 2009 to face Goodhue, another quarterfinal upset winner after the No. 6 Wildcats eliminated No. 3 Rushford-Peterson. The last Southeast Conference squad standing is No. 5 seed Kingsland. Defending section champion Spring Grove closed at 25-4.
Spring Grove, having won 13 of the last 15 games against Fillmore Central, still leads the competitive all-time series, 20 wins to 18. It was the teams’ first meeting in the playoffs since 2012 when the No. 2 Lions defeated No. 3 Falcons, 73-61. This was not the first time for No. 7 seed FC to upend No. 2 seed Spring Grove. Twenty years ago (2004), the Falcons won with another buzzer-beating lay-up, 45-43.
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SG 55, Fillmore Central 56
SCORE by HALVES
SG 31+24=55
FC 33+23=56
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 38% (20-52), FC 50% (20-40)
2-pt FG: SG 46% (12-26), FC 64% (7-11)
3-pt FG: SG 31% (8-26), FC 45% (13-29)
Free throws: SG 78% (7-9), FC 50% (3-6)
Rebounds: SG 33, FC 19
Turnovers: SG 16, FC 17
2nd Chance pts: SG 13, FC 1
Fast break pts: SG 2, FC 4
Pts. in paint: SG 27, FC 25
Greatest lead: SG 10, FC 6
Fouls: SG 11, FC 10
SG INDIVIDUALS: * starter. P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number
*Ben Udstuen 10P, 11R, 3A
Isaac Nerstad – played, no stats
*Ethan Crouch 5R, 4A, 2S, 1B
*Jacob Olerud 13P, 5R, 3A, 3S
Bryce Berns 1R, 1A, 1S
*Jaxon Strinmoen 21P, 4R, 4A, 3S, 1B
*Elijah Solum 11P, 7R, 1A, 2S
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Spring Grove Varsity Boys (25-3, 18-2 SEC)
W at Schaeffer Academy 68-36
W at La Crescent-Hokah 60-57
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 54-17
W vs. Glenville-Emmons 66-27
W vs. Lanesboro 64-30
W at Lyle/Pacelli 59-38
L vs. Southland 49-58
W vs. Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton 64-58
W at Grand Meadow 82-8
01/12 Mabel-Canton, ppd
W at Houston 82-34
W at Kingsland 60-40
W at Lanesboro 54-30
W vs. Kingsland 52-39
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 67-44
W at Fillmore Central 51-42
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 74-34
W at Glenville-Emmons 82-40
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 79-26
W vs. Mabel-Canton 80-38
L at Southland 50-52
L at Rushford-Peterson 79-82 (4 OT)
W vs. Rochester STEM 95-36
W vs. Grand Meadow 85-24
W vs. Martin County West 66-32
W at Mabel-Canton 65-50
W vs. Houston 64-38
W vs. Nevis 58-50
SECTION 1A – #2 seed
W vs. #15 Lanesboro 48-37
L vs. #7 Fillmore Central 55-56
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Spring Grove B-team (19-4)
W at La Crescent-Hokah 41-32
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 66-16
W vs. Lanesboro 53-24
W at Lyle/Pacelli 55-33
L vs. Southland 40-67
L vs. Cannon Falls 44-55
W at Grand Meadow 83-15
W at Houston 75-12
W at Kingsland 57-32
W at Lanesboro 33-27
W vs. Kingsland 43-26
W at Fillmore Central 69-55
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 56-19
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 75-21
W vs. Mabel-Canton 49-32
L at Southland 26-43
L at Rushford-Peterson 25-65
W vs. Rochester STEM 54-34
W vs. Grand Meadow 57-37
W vs. Martin County West 65-27
W at Mabel-Canton 42-28
W vs. Houston 66-27
W vs. Nevis 60-57
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Spring Grove 8th Grade (11-12)
W at Schaeffer Academy 29-10
W at La Crescent 42-33
L vs. Caledonia 24-39
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 59-31
L vs. Lanesboro 32-43
W vs. Southland 33-31
L vs. Mabel-Canton 24-25
W vs. Houston 40-37
W vs. Kingsland 34-13
L vs. Lanesboro 35-47
W vs. Grand Meadow 52-10
W vs. Kingsland 47-9
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 35-23
L vs. Fillmore Central 45-55
L vs. Chatfield
L vs. Houston
W vs. Lewiston-Altura
L vs. Caledonia 46-48
W vs. Southland 37-33
L at Rushford-Peterson 30-55
L at Mabel-Canton 40-45
L vs. Kee 44-48
L vs. Houston 39-40
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Spring Grove 7th Grade (13-11)
L at La Crescent-Hokah 32-34 (OT)
L vs. Caledonia 38-39
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 49-26
L vs. Lanesboro 38-65
L vs. Southland 20-21
W vs. Mabel-Canton
W vs. Houston 56-29
W vs. Kingsland 44-34
L vs. Lanesboro 41-46
W vs. Grand Meadow 40-19
L vs. Kingsland
W vs. Fillmore Central 8-16
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 51-9
W vs. Grand Meadow 32-14
W vs. Chatfield 41-31
L vs. Dover-Eyota 33-41
W vs. Houston 46-44 OT
L vs. Caledonia 26-43
L vs. Southland 36-40
L at Rushford-Peterson 31-54
W vs. Grand Meadow 48-22
W at Mabel-Canton 45-43
L vs. Kee 28-43
W vs. Houston
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