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PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Run at state puts spotlight on successful Southwest

Photo by Sam Thiel The RTR boys basketball team huddle up before their Class A quarterfinal game against Hinckely-Finlayson last Thursday at Williams Arena. The Knights’ historic 33-1 season has been another example of the high level of competition in the Southwest Minnesota region.

TYLER – In the closing seconds of the Class A Championship game last Saturday, Carter Hansen went to the free-throw line to put the game on ice. Meanwhile, his twin brother Cooper started to celebrate with his teammates as he went to center court and hugged Garrett Kern.

When the final horn sounded, the Knights sprinted on the court, jumping, embracing and celebrating. RTR had just won its third state title in program history, with the Knights knocking off No. 2 seed and last year’s runner-up North Woods with a 59-55 victory at Target Center, completing an 11-point second-half comeback.

In the postgame press conference, RTR coach Ted Kern couldn’t really describe the feeling.

“I can’t speak for the boys but I don’t think it has set in yet,” he said. “It’s kind of unreal.”

The championship was the icing on the cake for the Knights’ season, as RTR posted its best season since 2012-13 when it went 26-2. The start to the Knights’ schedule couldn’t have gone any better, as RTR won its first 24 games, the best start in program history. The Knights shattered their previous winning streak of 17 set by the 2005 team.

RTR would see its win streak come to an end on Feb. 20, a two-point loss (61-59) to Minneota. The Knights would bounce back, however, as they won their final six games of the regular season to head into the state tournament with an overall record of 30-1.

In the state tournament, the Knights would earn the No. 4 seed in the bracket, with Mayer Lutheran, North Woods and Cass Lake-Bena ahead of them. In the quarterfinals, RTR squared off against the No. 5 seed Hinckley-Finlayson. The Jaguars entered the tournament with a 26-4 record and were making their first trip to the state tournament.

RTR would use a strong first half performance to take a 12-point lead into halftime. In the second half, H-F went on a run to get as close as seven, but the Knights were able to push their lead back to double digits and advance to the semifinals with an 87-70 victory.

In the next round, the Knights had an even taller task ahead of them, with RTR going up against the No. 1 seed Mayer Lutheran. The Crusaders came into the tournament with a 27-3 record and were led by Garrett Tjernagel and Kobey Woolhouse.

The Knights and Crusaders both struggled to find scoring on the offensive end, but made up for it on defense. Both teams held each other to under 30 percent shooting on the game, as RTR took a 30-15 lead into halftime. In the second half, it was more back-and-forth gritty play between the ballclubs, but it was the Knights who made enough plays down the stretch to earn a 49-38 victory and advance to their first state championship game since 2005.

In the championship game, the Knights faced another tough opponent, this time the No. 2 seed North Woods Grizzlies. North Woods entered the tournament with a similar record to RTR, going 29-1 in the regular season. The Grizzlies were looking to avenge the loss they suffered in last year’s championship game, and were led by junior guard Cade Goggleye and senior forward Tate Olson.

It was very tight in the beginning stages of the game, as North Woods held an early lead before RTR battled back to take the lead. The Knights would go up by as many as 13 midway through the first half, but the Grizzlies answered right back with a 21-5 run to close the first half and take a 33-30 lead into halftime.

The second half was just as tight as its opening counterpart, with the two teams trading points in the early stages of the frame. North Woods would reach a double-digit lead of 11 with just 8:44 to play. That’s when the Knights reeled off another of their runs when they needed it most, cutting the deficit to within six before taking the lead for good at 54-52 with 2:12 remaining. RTR would hang on in in the final minutes, and would seal its historic season with a championship.

Kirk, Garrett Kern and Carter Hansen were each named to the Class A All-Tournament team. Kirk led the way for the Knights in the tournament, averaging 16 points and five rebounds. Kern added 17 points per game and connected on nine 3-pointers in the three games. Carter Hansen averaged nearly 16 points per game and had nine assists total.

As a team, RTR averaged 65 points per game and shot 71 of 157 (45.2 percent).

Just like they had done all season long, the Knights used their defense as a staple to winning ballgames. In the regular season, RTR held its opponents to just 44 points per game, including 10 games of 35 or below in points scored. In the postseason, the Knights allowed shooting percentages of under 42 percent in all three of their games.

Coach Kern said they continued to stick to their gameplan, no matter what situation of the game they were in.

“We needed to stick with what we do,” he said. “They were having some success against it in the middle part of the game, but it’s happened with us before where teams will have some success and you just hope that down the stretch that the legs will go a little bit. Especially after the third day, maybe our legs went a little bit but it’s what we do; hope to wear you down and have an opportunity at the end.”

RTR’s historic run this season can be shown through the level of competition the Knights face each year. The Knights came out of Section 3A, a region where competitive basketball can be seen daily. RTR had six games of a single-digit point differential and had multiple games where the Knights climbed out of a double-digit deficit and came back to win.

Carter Hansen said the competition level has been great and the region continues to provide hard-working teams each year.

“There’s a lot of great teams in our region and they bring it every time we step onto the court so we know we have to bring it just as hard as them,” he said. “Luckily we had a great season with it and made it here.”

The Knights faced many tough teams throughout the season. All three of their games with Minneota were decided by eight points or fewer, with the last two being split by just two points. Lakeview also had its games with RTR be decided by single digits.

The tight play between the teams has paid off throughout the last couple of decades at the state tournament. Since 1999, the state representative from Section 3A has placed third or better at 18 of the last 20 Class A tournaments. They have also played in the championship game 14 times, winning the title 10 of those times.

The Southwest Minnesota region has produced great teams, and it should only go up from there. With area teams watching what the Knights did to take home a title, next season might get even closer in deciding which team will be represented at state.

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