By Kerry Rodd
Raptors, Ogichidaa fall in Section 7A semis
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The Section 7A boys basketball season came to an end for local teams March 13 in Hibbing, where both Carlton/Wrenshall and Fond du Lac bowed out of the playoffs after semifinal games.
In the first semifinal game, Carlton/Wrenshall dropped a tough 79-70 decision to Mountain Iron-Buhl. Playing in their first season as a basketball cooperative, the Raptors ended with an impressive 21-8 record.
Carlton/Wrenshall trailed 35-32 at halftime and were still very much in the game. But the Rangers rode a 34-point performance by Chris King to the win.
“King had a monster first half for them,” said Raptors coach Shawn Filipiak. “It was just one of those games where we felt if we could have hit a couple more shots, or got a couple more rebounds, we could have won the game. That’s how things go in basketball sometimes.”
Carlton/Wrenshall was led by Carter Woodall, who scored 17 points. Sam Ojiway finished with 15 while Luukas Korpela added 11. Gavin LeBrasseur was also in double-digit scoring with 10 points.
“I am proud of the guys and the way we were able to put two teams together that were rivals and make a team out of them,” Filipiak said. “Our goal was to get to the section championship and we fell a little short, but to have a 21-win season was pretty special.”
Wednesday’s second semifinal in Hibbing saw Cherry, the No. 1 ranked team in the state, down Fond du Lac Ojibwe, 114-55.
“We played well despite what the scoreboard showed,” said FDL coach Cameron Thompson. “We got the looks we wanted on the offensive end and they are ones we normally make, but they just didn’t seem to want to fall.”
Noah Sundquist of Cherry led all scorers with 20 points, while both Noah Asuma and Isaiah Asuma recorded 16 points each. The team was the favorite to win the state title this week in the state tournament.
Leading the scoring for the Ogichidaa were Jordell Brown and Allen Defoe with 17 points each. Anthony Reynolds scored 13 points.
“We were happy to make it to the semifinals as the No. 6 seed by upsetting the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, knowing no one thought we would be there except for us,” Thompson said. “I said it from midway through the year: our record did not define us as a team and it didn’t reflect who we truly were.”
Fond du Lac ended the season with a 9-14 record.
