Photo by Chris Drummond Minneota’s Max Rost brings the ball up the floor during their Section 3A tournament game against CMCS on Saturday in Montevideo. Minneota fell to CMCS 70-36.

MONTEVIDEO — After earning a victory against No. 9N Canby to start their postseason, the No. 8N Minneota boys basketball team knew things were going to be challenging against top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian in their Section 3A tournament matchup on Saturday. Using a strong first-half run, CMCS took a double-digit halftime lead and ultimately earned a 70-36 victory in Montevideo.

The game started out in a tie at 6-6 for the first few minutes before the Bluejays erupted on offense, going on a 29-9 run to close the opening half with a 35-15 halftime lead. CMCS would never get threatened again. With crisp ball movement and efficient shooting by CMCS, it would be difficult for the Vikings to keep pace.

Minneota head coach David Busselman spoke about the team’s performance in the game.

“They looked like the number one seed and we looked like the number eight seed for a reason,” Busselman said. “We have made some strides and I told them we have that potential to be like them. They’re polished right now and we’re not.”

Cale Sorensen led Minneota with 14 points while Max Rost added eight and Sawyer DeSmet recorded six. No other Minneota stats were available at press time.

With the loss, Minneota’s season comes to an end with an overall record of 6-22. Saturday’s game was the final one for Minneota’s lone senior in Sorensen.

This would be the 23rd win of the season for the Bluejays as they advance to the quarterfinals of the section playoffs to play against the Lac Qui Parle Valley Eagles.

CMCS 70, Minneota 36

Minneota 15 21 – 36

CMCS 35 35 – 70

Scoring: Minneota (Sorensen 6-8, 0-2 14; Rost 4-10, 0-0 8; DeSmet 3-6, 0-2 6; Rybinski 1-2, 2-2 4; Lacek 1-1, 0-0 3; Sheik 0-1, 1-2 1).