Superior ball-handling, great defense, steady free-throw shooting and hot 3-point shooting propelled the Spring Grove boys into the Section 1A Tournament championship game. On March 11 at Rochester, the 57-46 semi-final decision over two-time defending state champion Hayfield was not only a clash between the No. 2 and No. 3 section seeds was also a high-level state-ranked showdown between the No. 7 Lions and the No. 8 Vikings. Spring Grove (28-1) achieved a 28th win for the second time in program history (28-2 in 2016). The No. 2 seeded Lions advance to the section title game for the fifth time (2008, 2016, 2018, 2019) all under coach Wade Grinde. Hayfield (23-7) will not return to the championship game after playing in the last three. The championship opponent is top section seed and state-ranked No. 1 Goodhue, which advanced with a win over state-ranked No. 9 Lyle/Pacelli
Photo by Lee Epps
This year, it was a reversal of verdicts, one year after Hayfield had won a section semi-final game versus Spring Grove on the way to the Vikings’ repeat state title. The Lions’ only section championship in 2019 included a semi-final win over Hayfield. Spring Grove has now won three of the four games versus Hayfield, all in the section tournament (three in the semi-finals).
Tysen Grinde hit 7 of 13 shots from the field, including 4 of 7 beyond the 3-point arc on the way to a team-high 20 points plus 5 rebounds and 2 assists. Caleb Griffin added 11 points and despite sitting out more than seven minutes in foul trouble, Jaxon Strinmoen also had 11 points to go with 4 rebounds and 5 assists with no turnovers. There were 5 points each from Ethan Crouch, Elijah Solum and Jacob Olerud – the latter with a team-high 6 rebounds plus 2 steals and 2 assists with no turnovers.
The Vikings scored first, but the Grove guys answered immediately with a deep 3-ball from Grinde and five treys later led 26-10 to the delight of a large following of fans. Hayfield scored the next four points to make it 26-14 at halftime. The Vikings would hit 10 of their first 12 shots after the break to get back within six points (44-38) with 5:47 to play. In the second half, Hayfield more than doubled its first-half point production (32 points after 14) but only outscored Spring Grove by one point, 32-31, after halftime.
Hayfield’s second-half challenge came with a dominating performance from brawny 6-foot-4 center Zander Jacobson, who scored 16 of his game-high 22 points after intermission. With 17 rebounds, he was a rebounding force all afternoon. Meanwhile, 6-2 Isaac Matti scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. That senior duo combined for 40 of the Vikings’ 46 points.
Lion ball-handling and defense are consistently exceptional. They had only 7 turnovers all game. After a game-opening turnover, the Grove guys went through their next 17 possessions without a turnover while seizing a 26-10 lead. After opening the second half with a lost possession, the Lions went the next 12 possessions without a turnover while fending off the Vikings.
The Spring Grove defense forced 15 Hayfield turnovers while allowing only three trips to the foul line, where the Vikings hit 3 of 6 free throws. The Lions did not attempt a free throw in the first half and then sank 6 of 8 foul shots before Hayfield was forced to foul. Grove then secured the win by netting 6 of 8 free throws in the final minute to finish 12 of 16 (75%). The Lions outscored the Vikings by nine points at the charity stripe in an 11-point win.
With two solid defenses, the result was greatly determined by 3-point shooting. The Lions aired up 22 shots from both beyond and within the arc. The Vikings put up 19 shots from afar and 25 two-point attempts. Spring Grove, after frigid 13% frustration from 3-point range in the quarterfinals, shot a hot 41% (9 for 22) from downtown in the semi-final, while Hayfield went 5 for 19 (26%). However, with Jacobson scoring so often close to the basket, the Vikings outshot the Lions overall, 46% to 43%.
But with four more 3-pointers, Grove held a two-point advantage from the field. Five different Lions scored beyond the 3-point arc, including four triples from Grinde (4 for 7) and two treys from Griffin (2 for 4) with one each from Crouch, Strinmoen and Olerud.
Solum had a pair of eye-popping plays, including a block of a Jacobson shot. Later, during a mid-air dive over the end line, he flipped a rebound back to Olerud. That dandy dive came just after Grinde scored after ripping a rebound away from Matti for a late 51-42 lead.
Goodhue used a playing rotation of only five players – two seniors and three juniors. Seven Lions saw significant action – three seniors and four juniors. Both head coaches had a son playing a prominent role.
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SG 57, Hayfield 46
SCORE by HALVES
SG 26+31=57
Hay 14+32=46
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 43% (18-42), Hay 46% (19-41)
2-pt FG: SG 45% (9-20), Hay 64% (14-22)
3-pt FG: SG 41% (9-22), Hay 26% (5-19)
Free throws: SG 75% (12-16), Hay 50% (3-6)
Rebounds: SG 19, Hay 28; Turnovers: SG 7, Hay 15; 2nd Chance pts: SG 11, Hay 5; Fast break pts: SG 5, Hay 2; Pts. in paint: SG 24, Hay 31; Greatest lead: SG 16, Hay 2; Fouls: SG 9, Hay 14
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. *Caleb Griffin 11P, 1A, 2S; Isaac Nerstad no stats; *Tysen Grinde 20P, 5R, 2A, 1B; Hunter Holland no stats; Josh Newgaard no stats; *Ethan Crouch 5P, 2R, 1S, 1B; Logan Brumm no stats; Jacob Olerud 5P, 6R, 2A, 2S; Bryce Berns no stats=; Dane Edgington no stats; *Jaxon Strinmoen 11P, 4R, 5A, 1S; *Elijah Solum 5P, 2R, 2A, 1S, 1B
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Spring Grove Boys Basketball 2023
SEC games in bold
28 wins, 1 loss (20-0 SEC)
W at Lanesboro 71-52
W at Glenville-Emmons 75-27
L vs. Dawson-Boyd 57-66
W vs. Higher Ground Academy 83-39
W at Southland 57-33
W vs. Mankato Loyola 61-54
W at Grand Meadow 64-27
W at Mabel-Canton 85-36
W at Schaeffer Academy 69-37
W vs. Houston 67-21
W vs. Lanesboro 60-46
W at Kingsland 72-37
W vs. La Crescent-Hokah 66-63
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 65-35
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 81-27
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 93-24
W vs. Glenville-Emmons 72-31
W at Lyle/Pacelli 46-40
W vs. Fillmore Central 69-65
W vs Southland 47-42 OT
W vs. Rushford-Peterson 56-45
W vs. Kingsland59-23
W vs. Grand Meadow 64-24
W vs. Mabel-Canton 49-34
W at Houston 77-36
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 53-38
SECTION 1A TOURNAMENT – #2 seed
W vs. #15 Mabel-Canton 71-33
W vs. #7 Randolph 39-24
W vs. #3 Hayfield 57-46
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Spring Grove B-team
17 wins, 6 losses
W at Lanesboro 45-20
W at Glenville-Emmons 53-31
W vs. Dawson-Boyd 34-30
W vs. Higher Ground Academy 52-13
L at Southland 35-47
W vs. Loyola 46-23
W at Mabel-Canton 45-9
Wat Schaeffer Academy 61-25
W vs. Houston 52-19
W vs. Lanesboro 35-24
L at Kingsland 41-44
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 30-31
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 49-25
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 54-18
W vs. Glenville-Emmons 57-36
W at Lyle/Pacelli 26-24
W vs. Fillmore Central 46-38
L vs. Southland 27-36
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 42-46
W vs. Kingsland 53-28
W vs. Mabel-Canton 55-28
W at Houston 51-14
L vs. Lyle/Pacelli 36-40
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Spring Grove 8th Grade
12 wins, 8 losses
W at Lanesboro 48-24
L at Caledonia 29-37
L at Southland 41-55
W at Grand Meadow 48-14
W at Mabel-Canton 53-30
W at Schaeffer Academy 41-31
W vs. Houston 49-18
L vs. Kingsland 12-43
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 31-50
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 38-26
L vs. Fillmore Central 15-42
L vs. Southland 42-54
L vs. Caledonia 32-42
W vs. Rushford-Peterson 38-28
W vs. Lanesboro 44-22
L vs. Kingsland 29-41
W vs. Grand Meadow 49-13
W vs. Mabel-Canton 38-24
W at Lansing Kee 40-29
W at Houston 44-37
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Spring Grove 7th Grade
11 wins, 8 losses
L at Lanesboro 23-28
L a Caledonia 23-26
W at Southland 29-26
W at Mabel-Canton 36-32
W at Schaeffer Academy 31-15
W vs. Houston 38-21
W vs. Kingsland 25-20
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 20-27
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 26-13
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 23-21
L vs. Fillmore Central 34-39
W vs. Southland 34-18
L vs. Caledonia 26-31
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 19-30
L vs. Lanesboro 28-40
W vs. Kingsland 32-25
L vs. Mabel-Canton 29-41
W at Lansing Kee 31-20
W at Houston 46-43
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