THE SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA CHRISTIAN EAGLES TOOK ON RUSHFORD-PETERSON TROJANS IN THE STATE SEMIFINALS

The Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles took on the Rushford-Peterson Trojans in the semifinals of the Minnesota State High School League state boys' basketball tournament. Rushford-Peterson came into the game with a record of 25-5 and Southwest Minnesota Christian came into the game with a record of 26-1.

Southwest Minnesota Christian looked to get everyone involved in the offense. On the defensive end they played a zone defense. SMC’s game plan was to force Rushford-Peterson in shooting long range shots and try to keep them out of the paint.

For Southwest Minnesota Christian they looked to get the ball into the hands of Keeran Sampson. Sampson was all over the floor as he found his shot early in the game.

There was a media timeout with 14:49 left in the first half the score was Southwest Christian 7 and Rushford 2.

The score went back and forth midway through the first half as each team was hit shots. Over the next 5 minutes of the game, Rushford Peterson was able to gain control of the first half. They applied tremendous defensive pressure and half SMC to only 2 points over the next five minutes whiling turning up their offensive efforts they managed to score 10 points.

There was a media timeout with 10:54 left in the first half. The score was Rushford 12 and Southwest Christian 9.

Both teams were feeling the pressure of the occasion. The teams were coached well and they tried to employ various defensive strategies in an effort to force turnovers. The coaches were up instructing there players on where they were supposed to be on the court and yelling encouragement.

There was a media timeout with 6:26 left in the first half. The score was Rushford-Peterson 18 and Southwest Christian 17.

Neither team gave up easy shots in the during a physically contested first half.

There was a media timeout with 3:18 left in the first half. The score was Rushford-Peterson 23 and South West Christian 20.

The score at halftime was Rushford-Peterson 28 and Southwest Christian 22.

In the first half Rushford-Peterson shot 8-19 from the field. That included going 2-7 from behind the three-point line.

As the second half got underway both teams came out looking refreshed. They continued to dive on the floor and go after loose balls and rebounds.

Nick Thompson and Trent Vix brought tremendous energy off the bench which gave emotional lift to their team. These guys were all over the floor for Rushford-Peterson.

Both teams continued to exchange baskets but SMC could not get enough stops to overtake their opponent.

There was a media timeout with 6:20 left in regulation. The score was Rushford-Peterson 36 and Southwest Christian 33.

In the final minutes of the game, Rushford-Peterson lost control of their lead. The game continued to be a defensive struggle which turned out to be in the favor of Southwest Christian.

The game came down to the wire. Both of these teams gave it everything that that had and laid everything on the floor.

Southwest Christian came away with the 46-44 victory over Rushford-Peterson.