Photo by Jake McNeill: Murray County Central forward Aidan Swenson shoots a contested fadeaway during the first half of the Section 3A South subsection championship game at Southwest Minnesota State University's R/A Facility on Saturday.

MARSHALL — The sixth-seeded Murray County Central boys basketball team couldn’t keep its Cinderella run alive on Saturday against top-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek in the 3A South subsection championship at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Patriots’ tenacious offensive rebounding and ability to knock down open shots from long range made the difference as the Rebels’ season came to an end with a 60-44 loss.

Still, Murray County Central finishes the year with an three-win improvement from last year’s 15-13 finish, and got farther in the postseason than last year’s subsection semifinal loss to Hills-Beaver Creek. They did all this despite the loss of some talented seniors, such as rim protector Bryce Hoekman.

“[This year’s] seniors had goals in mind and I think that they reached them,” MCC head coach Tim Cariveau said. “Obviously they didn’t want to end it this way, but you could tell by the grit that they had, they never gave up in this game.”

For nearly two minutes after the opening tip-off, neither team scored. Micah Bush finally broke the ice for Hills-Beaver Creek, but an Aiden Swenson layup and a Hudson Schryvers free throw put MCC on top 3-2.

Still, the Patriots rallied ahead from there. A pair of 3-pointers from Brodie Metzger and another from Bush brought HBC’s lead up to 11-5.

With 11 minutes remaining, the Rebels started to rally ahead. A Tristan Behrends 3, Max Miller cut to the basket for a layup and Gavin Gillette slashed to the rim for an and-1 to take the lead. Miller missed the ensuing free throw, but the Rebels still led 14-13.

Riggins Rhealt knocked down a 3-pointer on the following possession to take the lead right back on the next possession, however. Swenson knocked down a pair of free throws to retie the game at 16-all, but a Sawyer Bosch 3 gave HBC the lead for good.

Swenson finished the night leading the team in points and rebounds, accounting for 15 points and 12 total rebounds on 6 of 14 shooting. His four offensive rebounds and two blocks were also both team-highs.

Gillette was the lone other Rebel to score more than 5 points, tallying 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting. Schryvers also distributed five assists with eight rebounds in the loss.

In the waning minutes of the half, Brodie Metzger started to heat up as the HBC lead blossomed. He finished with a game-high first-half points, while Bush and Bosch added 7 and 5 respectively, to give HBC a 32-21 lead at the break.

MCC scored each of the second half’s first 4 points to get back within single digits, but Beau Bakken ended the drought with a midrange jumper that sparked a 7-0 Patriots run. HBC led by 15 points by the 11-minute mark and bolstered its lead up to 20 with seven minutes remaining.

With five minutes remaining, the Rebels made a late push with a scoring run that cut HBC’s lead to 11 points, 55-44. Yet, the run was interrupted when Carson Engelkes had to be helped off the floor due to a lower-body injury and Micah Bush hit a 3-pointer and a ferocious dunk to stomp out any hope of a comeback.

“We’ve got a lot of different kids on our team that play different roles, so we went a little offense-for-defense there to get some more energy on the floor and it worked out for us,” Cariveau said of the stretch.

Murray County Central finishes its season at 18-11 and graduates a large group of seniors with Gillette, Schryvers, Dylan Kluis, Carson Engelkes, Andrew Holm, Dawson Schreier and Drew Wajer.

“Their leadership has been everything. They wanted this,” Cariveau said of his graduating seniors. “They had goals, they set them from the beginning of the season and they were going to do everything they could to reach them and to be one of the first teams in a long time at MCC to get here. I think that says a lot about them.”