THE SPUDS OF MOORHEAD TOOK ON THE PANTHERS OF LAKEVILE NORTH IN A QUARTERFINAL OF THE BOYS' STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

The Moorhead Spuds who came into the game with a record of 18-9 took on the Lakeville North Panthers who came into the game with a record of 28-1.

It took a while for each of these teams to get acclimated to the floor and the game. The score went back and forth at the start of the game.

Moorhead strung some baskets together and they were able to get up 12-7 with 10:23 left in the first half.

Lakeville North went to a man-to-man defense. They didn't want to give up easy shots. Both teams looked to score baskets in transition.

Moorhead called a timeout with 6:17 left in the first half. The score was Moorhead 18 and Lakeville North 16.

Austin Nelson for Moorhead was all over the floor. On the offensive end he was able to hit shots. He was not afraid to shoot the ball from anywhere on the floor.

In very competitive and closely contested contest the halftime the score was Moorhead 29 and Lakeville North 26. Moorhead shot 11-25 from the field that included going 5-10 from behind the three-point line. They were 2-4 from the free-throw line. Lakeville North was 8-21 from the field. That included going 1-7 from behind the three-point line. They were 9-11 from the free-throw line.

Moorhead kept on getting to the basket. Lakeville North didn't back down. The score went back and forth throughout the second half.

Both teams looked under control on the floor. They were patient and let the game come to them. They didn’t rush their shots.

I liked how Lakeville North's Tyler David played. He played with a lot of heart and emotion. He came in and gave his team energy on both ends of the floor.

Neither team gave up. They each made good plays on both ends of the floor. Both coaches coached with a lot of emotion and pride.

The score went back and forth late in the game. Lakeville North came away with the 61-55 victory over Moorhead.

The leading scorers for Moorhead were Aaron Lien with 15 points and Austin Nelson with 14 points. Moorhead was 20-46 from the field. That included going 8-18 from behind the three-point line. They shot 7-10 from the free-throw line. Moorhead brought down a total of 25 rebounds 18 of them on the defensive end.

The leading scorers for Lakeville North were Ryan Saarela with 13 points and Grant Erickson with 11 points. Lakeville North shot 20-48 from the field that included going 4-15 from behind the three-point line.