Photo by Sam Thiel DB’s Brayson Boike tries to shoot a jumper during their Section 3A tournament game against CMCS on Saturday. DB fell to CMCS 61-52.

MARSHALL — The No. 3N Dawson-Boyd boys basketball team knew things were going to be challenging against top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian in their Section 3A semifinal matchup, especially with CMCS winning 12 straight games and 17 of its last 18. With a trip to the section championship on the line, DB found itself in a double-digit halftime deficit and wasn’t able to overcome it despite a second-half rally, as CMCS earned a 61-52 victory on Saturday in the R/A Facility on the campus of Southwest Minnesota State University.

Despite the outcome, DB coach Cory Larson said he felt they competed hard, especially in the second half, but they just couldn’t get enough momentum to take the lead late.

“I thought our kids fought extremely hard. We definitely didn’t play the first half that we wanted to, down 12 going into the break, but our kids showed the great character that they have, came out and fought hard in the second half,” Larson said. “I thought we found a little rhythm offensively, started playing with a little more purpose and more patience, we just couldn’t quite climb all the way back from a 12-point deficit.”

CMCS jumped out to a quick start, going up 10-2 early before a jumper by Brayson Boike got DB on the board again with 13:28 left in the first half. Both teams would trade points over the next few minutes, with CMCS getting a 3-pointer to take a double-digit lead at 19-9 with 10 minutes left but DB had an answer, as Boike connected on a 3-pointer to draw the deficit to five at 21-16 with 8:17 left. The two sides continued to exchange points, with Braxton Hahn connecting on a 3-pointer to help DB get to within six at 30-24 with 2:40 left, but CMCS answered with an 8-2 run, including a coast-to-coast layup to beat the halftime buzzer, to take a 38-26 advantage going into the locker rooms.

Despite the deficit, DB kept battling, getting to within seven on an Aiden Swenson layup before Keegon Wicht connected on a 3-pointer to make it a six-point game at 40-34 with 14:55 left. The two teams traded points over the next few minutes, with Carter Bowen getting a layup to draw DB to within five at 46-41 with 8:50 left, but CMCS answered with a 6-2 run to make it 52-43 with 4:14 left. DB would get the deficit to within six at 52-46 with 2:45 left, but couldn’t get any closer en route to the 61-52 final.

Boike led DB with 21 points while Wicht added 14 and Swenson and Hahn each had five. Boike also led in rebounds with 10 while Wicht led in assists with five.

Saluting the seniors

With the loss, DB’s season comes to an end with an overall record of 18-9. Saturday’s game also was the final one for DB’s three seniors in Hahn, Caleb Torke and Collin Swedzinski. Larson said while they all had similar attributes like a hard work ethic, they brought something different to the table and they’ll be missed.

“Those guys were champions at their roles; those three guys all kind of gave us something different. They all gave us something the same with their effort, you never question their effort, but they had different aspects to their games that helped us as a team,” Larson said. “We have two freshmen on the team, those seniors treat them like anybody else and have a ton of respect for them. Our team has a ton of respect for our three seniors and they’re all really good kids and I wish them the best.”

CMCS 61, DB 52

DB 26 26 – 52

CMCS 38 23 – 61

Scoring: DB (Boike 8-15, 2-3 21; Wicht 5-15, 1-2 14; Swenson 2-5, 1-2 5; Hahn 2-2, 0-0 5; Bowen 2-3, 0-0 4; Swedzinski 1-4, 0-0 3).

Rebounds: DB 25 (Boike 10; Hahn, Bowen 4).

Assists: DB 9 (Wicht 5).

Steals: DB 5 (Wicht, Swenson, Hahn, Swedzinski, Olson 1).