“Our free-throw percentage is the best it’s been all year, and that was huge for us. I think our defense got a little bit better in the second half, where we weren’t giving up as many wide-open 3s,” MCC head coach Tim Cariveau said. “I thought we were a little bit tighter there, and offensively, we valued the ball.”

The Vikings’ zone defense and perimeter shooting, and MCC’s height and transition game offered a tough matchup between the two. Both Aiden Swenson and Dugan Kluis shot perfect from the free throw line to make the difference down the stretch, going 7 for 7 and 8 for 8, respectively.

“I thought we did a nice job [recongnizing] and switching up the defenses … We shot well, and that always makes a big difference. I thought we handled their [MCC] three-quarter court press, we handled that for the most part, so I was pretty happy with that. I saw a lot of good things,” Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. “We were forced to play a little zone because of their size … We had to turn around at halftime and make some tweaks based on what they were doing. Our kids made the adjustments, we just kind of fell in the second half. We weren’t as efficient on the offense against their pressure.”

MCC was led by Swenson’s 29 points, while Leo Hennen powered the Vikings with a team-high 20 points behind six 3-pointers. Minneota had 11 3-pointers on the night to the Rebels’ four.

Minneota sophomore guard Jase Sorensen goes up for a shot in the first half Saturday afternoon against MCC.

The Rebels, who had a 36-34 halftime edge, built a 46-41 lead in the opening minutes of the second half following baskets from Swenson and Tristan Behrends. Minneota’s Jase Sorensen put an end to the run with a 3 to bring the Vikings back within a possession.

MCC and Minneota traded a few late leads, as a pair of free throws from Tristen Sussner put the Vikings back in front, 49-47.

The Rebels made a habit to find Wyatt Thompson or Swenson inside the paint for a mismatch, standing at 6-foot-7 and 6-foot-5, respectively. Minneota’s height came from Hunter Carstensen and Kyson Arndt, at 6-foot-5 each.

“I am really impressed with those two guys [Thompson and Swenson] the last two games, actually. They both did a really good job scoring, but tonight, I thought Wyatt did a good job facilitating, especially against the zone,” Cariveau said. “He’d be our point man at the high post, and he did a good job finding [open looks]. He also found [Cayden] Veldhuisen for a couple 3s in the wings.”

With under four minutes to play, Ian Myhre made a shot off a pump fake as Easton Johnston drew a charge on the defensive end to bring Minneota back within 3 points, 61-58.

Murray County Central junior guard Dugan Kluis dribbles off the screen set by Wyatt Thompson (left) in the first half against Minneota on Saturday.

As MCC continued to chip away, a Sorensen 3-pointer again pulled the Vikings back into a possession with 44 seconds left, 68-65.

With both teams in the bonus, MCC made a handful of trips to the line in the final two minutes overall. Swenson, Kluis and Behrends all made a string of free throws, ultimately putting the dagger on the win.

Minneota overall had 13 shots at the free throw line, making eight.

For the Vikings, Sorensen followed Hennen with another 17 points with a trio of 3s. Behrends and Kluis finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, to pair with Swenson for the Rebels.

The first half set the competitive tone early, leading up to a 28-28 tie as neither team was able to break away with a comfortable lead.

MCC’s Carter Hanson got the scoring started with a layup off tipoff and immediately got a steal on the defensive end that led to a transition bucket for Swenson. Hennen hit a 3-pointer off the top of the key to get the Vikings on the board in response.

“That’s [transition play] a big emphasis for us. We got four guards that can run, and our bigs do a good job of rim-running,” Cariveau said of MCC’s transition game. “In the first half, I think we dribbled the air out of the ball, and in the second half, we would push it up to our wings and that helps.”

The Rebels ran an occasional press that cultivated a few turnovers, yet Minneota did just the same with a switch to a 2-3 zone defense midway through the half that flustered MCC. Cariveau credited Minneota for being prepared for the Rebels’ press, and said he didn’t run it as much as he had hoped due to the Vikings’ finding a quick answer around it.

“We’ve practiced it [zone defense] once. We’ve ran it a couple times, I mean, literally just a couple series in another game, so I was pretty happy. We don’t run a lot of zones. They’re trying to still grasp the difference between man and zone, and some of the responsibilities,” coach Johnston said. “I think it’s definitely something that we have to continue to work on, and if nothing else, just that change of pace.”

Johnston had back-to-back steals off the zone that led to a pair of Minneota layups, along with a Sussner layup, to build the Vikings’ lead to 24-18. The Vikings’ defensive rebounding also shined during their run.

“It did take us a couple [possessions to adjust to Minneota’s zone]. We were trying to stay with what we were doing, but we weren’t setting screens on the right people,” Cariveau said. “Then, [assist] coach [Paul] Counter just switched them out of it, and into our typical zone offense.”

Yet, MCC got its momentum going again with a jump shot off the left elbow from Kluis, followed up with a Swenson shot down low to cut into a 26-24 deficit.

The Rebels took the lead, 28-26, after Swenson got his own rebound off a free throw and was fouled going for the putback and made his next free throw. The Rebels eventually went into the locker room with its one-possession lead after Minneota hit a jumper from Hennen and a free throw from Hunter Carstensen.

MCC and Minneota each have returned a core group of players this season with experienced talent, both holding seven seniors supported by a large group of juniors.

“We got a lot of potential. I think as the year goes on, we’re just looking for more consistency, and not having those little droughts within each half,” Cariveau said regarding season expectations. “Some of them have played a little bit, but it’s never been their team, so to speak. So, when they understand that it’s theirs, I think you’ll see us get even better.”

“I hope we continue to go forward, and I know we have. We’ve looked better, despite having a couple losses,” coach Johnston said of his group. “Compared to what we looked [like] in the first two games, we’re looking better. We’re looking a little bit more like we understand basketball a little bit better. The seniors are working hard, and they’re trying to be our leaders.”

Minneota (2-4) will next return to the holiday tournament at Southwest Minnesota State University on Wednesday to take on Edgerton (3-2) at 11 a.m. in the R/A Facility.

MCC (4-2) will do the same, and will face Lac qui Parle Valley (0-8) on Wednesday at SMSU at 3:30 p.m.