Despite knocking down a season-high eleven 3-pointers, Okoboji found themselves on the losing end of a 64-51 Class 2A District playoff game at West Lyon on Monday. The Pioneers trailed by as much as 16 in the second half, but used the long ball to battle back to within single digits. Weston Burgeson caught fire in the second half, draining four of his six triples en route to a team-high 18 points. Keith Oskvig and Dalton Syverson each pitched in with ten points. The season ends at 1-21 for the Pioneers. Brandon Snyder paced the Wildcats with 20 points, scoring 16 of them after halftime. Adam Teunissen dropped in 16 points, dominating the first half with a dozen. West Lyon bumps their record to 13-9 and advances to the second round, where they will travel to Sheldon on Thursday to battle the Orabs.
Click here for the postgame interview with Okoboji coach Ryan Paulsen.
The rest of the Class 2A District 3 bracket saw Estherville-Lincoln Central win at home, 54-43, over North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted. The Midgets will take an 8-15 record to Hull on Thursday to battle Western Christian. Tip off is at 7pm. Elsewhere in Class 2A, Unity Christian dominated Cherokee, 64-30, moving on to the second round against Sioux Center. The district quarterfinal between Emmetsburg and Sioux Central was postponed due to snow, and will be made up Wednesday, with coverage on Y100.
A pair of Cornbelt Conference rivals went to battle in the opening round of the Class 1A District tournament Monday, and for the third time this year, Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire bested Clay Central-Everly, 57-37. The Mavericks end the year at 5-16, while the Raiders take a 6-15 record into the quarterfinals. There they will face Cornbelt Conference champion and undefeated Harris-Lake Park. That game is Thursday at 7pm with coverage on Q102. Also in that bracket, Pocahontas Area/Pomeroy-Palmer upended West Bend-Mallard by a 72-63 final to solidify a spot in the second round against defending state champion, Storm Lake St. Mary’s.
A 17-0 run in the first quarter by George-Little Rock helped the Mustangs control from start to finish against Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, taking their Class 1A District matchup, 59-32. Blake Simons topped the scoring list for the Hawks with a dozen points. HMS finishes the season at 8-15. George-Little Rock was led by Eric Schilling’s 16 points, followed by Matt Nagel with twelve points. The Mustangs improve to 7-15 this year and will take on Trinity Christian this Thursday. The other first round game in that bracket saw Sibley-Ocheyedan dismantle Spalding Catholic, 88-58. The Generals are now 9-12, and winners of five of their last six. Sibley-Ocheyedan travels to Boyden-Hull on Thursday to take on the fourth-ranked Comets.
