No. 3 MCC 61, No. 6 WWG 41

WORTHINGTON — Murray County Central got off to a hot start to kick off the Section 3A South boys basketball quarterfinals against Westbrook-Walnut Grove on Saturday. The third-seeded Rebels built up an 18-point lead by halftime and ran away with a 61-41 win over the Chargers.

Aiden Swenson was a dominant two-way force for the Rebels, shooting 9 of 13 from the field for a team-high 20 points while also grabbing nine total and five offensive rebounds. He also was one of four Rebels with a block in the game, along with Tristen Behrends, Wyatt Thompson and Krew Schneider.

Behrends added another 16 points for MCC and Thompson tied Swenson with a team-leading nine total rebounds.

On the defensive end, Dugan Kluis came up with four steals and grabbed five rebounds for the Rebels.

MCC led 31-13 at halftime and never let up from there.

Drew Swanson and Jackson Jenniges led the Chargers offensively with 12 points each.

MCC improves to 18-6 and next takes on No. 2 Southwest Minnesota Christian (23-4) in the subsection semifinals, tonight in Worthington at 7:30 p.m. Southwest defeated MCC twice during the regular season, winning 83-63 on Dec. 18 and 72-59 on Jan. 29.

WWG finishes its season at 15-12 and graduates a core of seniors that includes Kyle Curry, Drew Swanson and Neil Kuehl.

No. 1S HBC 68, No. 8S RRC 29

WORTHINGTON — The eighth-seeded Red Rock Central boys basketball team wasn’t able to complete the upset over No. 1 Hills-Beaver Creek in the Section 3A South quarterfinals on Saturday, culminating in a 68-29 win for the Patriots.

Henry Stavnes led the Falcons with 15 points and six rebounds while Jake Erickson contributed 6 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

RRC shot 36% on 2-point attempts and 9% from 3 on the day, and trailed 39-17 at halftime.

Red Rock Central wraps up its season at 7-21 and graduates five seniors in Erickson, Brekken Determan, Abe Stavnes, Finn Batalden, Austin Imker and Carter Therkilsen.

No. 2S SWMC 93, No. 7S TMB 48

WORTHINGTON — The No. 7 Tracy-Milroy-Balaton boys basketball team’s season came to an end Saturday, falling 93-48 to the No. 2 Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles in the 3A South subsection quarterfinals.

TMB built up a 53-30 lead by halftime and continued to pile on points after the break, outscoring the Panthers by 22 points in the second half.

Griffin Zick was the Panthers’ leading scorer on the day, finishing with 15 points on 5 of 15 shooting. Jackson Kruse added another 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting while Connor Lanoue contributed another 9 points with six assists.

Aidan Sanow led the Rebels on the glass with six rebounds in the loss, though Southwest Christian outrebounded TMB 35-27.

TMB finishes its season at 12-16 and graduates four seniors in Zick, Lanoue, Sy Sanders and Eli Lightfoot.

No. 5 Edgerton 64, No. 4 RTR 45

WORTHINGTON — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton boys basketball team was upset by fifth-seeded Edgerton 64-45 in the 3A South subsection quarterfinals Saturday, marking the Knights’ second consecutive opening-round loss after winning the section 3A championship three years in a row.

Stats were not available for RTR.

The Knights finish their season at 15-12 and graduate seven seniors, including Gavin Schreurs, Juhl and Jens Drake, Tyler Wichmann, Colten Thomsen, Tyler Dagel and Jackson Kerkaert.

PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL

No. 1S HBC 48, No. 3S MCC 40

WORTHINGTON — The Murray County Central girls basketball team played lockdown defense against top-seeded Hills-Beaver Creek in Friday night’s 3A South subsection championship but the Patriots prevailed in the end. The third-seeded Rebels’ defense persisted throughout the night, but the Patriots pulled away in the end for a 48-40 win.

The Rebels led until Hailey Moser hit a 3-pointer to give the Patriots a 35-32 edge with 6:40 to play, giving Hills its first lead since scoring the game’s opening points. Ava Deacon answered with a 3 of her own for MCC, but another corner 3 gave the Patriots the lead for good.

Deacon hit another 3 with 2:17 left to make it a one-possession game with just over two minutes to play. Yet, the Patriots made sure that was the last bucket the Rebels scored, holding MCC scoreless from there to close the game on a 5-0 run.

Deacon carried the brunt of the scoring load for MCC, finishing with 19 points on 6 of 19 shooting from the field and 5 of 12 shooting from 3-point range. She also grabbed a pair of steals on the defensive end of the court. Kat Miller was the only other Rebel to hit multiple field goals in the game, scoring 6 points on a pair of 3-pointers.

The Rebels forced double-digit turnovers in the first half to build up a 20-13 lead in a defensive first half. MCC limited Hills to 30% shooting from the field and 20% shooting from 3, but shot 23% from the field and 27% from 3 themselves.

HBC held MCC scoreless for the first three minutes of the second half until Deacon hit a 3-pointer, but the Rebel defense kept the Patriots in check to maintain a 6-point lead after Deacon’s bucket.

Calleigh Doeden and Miller led MCC on the glass with six and five rebounds, respectively. Miller also had three assists and a block on the night.

MCC finishes its season at 48-40 and graduates Deacon, Doeden, Kaitlyn Blankenship and Rachael Huso.