Photo by Samantha Davis: The Wabasso boys basketball team and student section cheers after a 3-pointer in the first half against Dawson-Boyd Tuesday night in the Section 3A North subsection semifinals. The Rabbits defeated the Blackjacks 89-70 to advance to the subsection championship.

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MONTEVIDEO — Holding a lead for the majority of the night, the No. 3 Wabasso boys basketball team came away with a thrilling 89-70 semifinal win over No. 2 Dawson-Boyd Tuesday night to advance to the Section 3A North subsection championship. The loss ends the Blackjacks’ season 21-6 overall, who put together yet another impressive campaign.

One game after breaking Wabasso’s single-game rebounding record with 34, Caden Frericks put his name on another honor after breaking the program’s record for most rebounds in a single season, now 488 and counting after finishing with 27 Tuesday night. The previous school record was 475 in a season.

Wabasso got off to a hot start and went into the break with an 11-point lead over Dawson-Boyd. In the loud and excited atmosphere with both schools bringing a large crowd, the Rabbits were able to withstand the Blackjacks’ pressure to come away with the upset over the 2025 Class A defending state champions.

Wabasso led the entire night, except for briefly in the game’s first minutes, and took a 45-34 halftime edge. But, the Blackjacks came out in the second half with a fight and pulled themselves right back into the game.

Gunner Liebl and Carson Stratmoen got some Dawson-Boyd momentum going with a 3-pointer each, followed up with a floater in the middle of the lane from Liebl to cut into a 49-44 deficit.

Stratmoen shortly after made it a one-possession game after drilling in another 3 near the top of the key to force Wabasso to call a timeout with a 53-49 lead and just over 12 minutes left to play.

Along with Brayden Guetter and Drew Kemp’s strong shooting performance for Wabasso, Frericks’ rebounding power once again made a difference for the Rabbits in getting more scoring opportunities.

Liebl, Hastad and Stratmoen led the offensive charge for Dawson-Boyd, helping to keep the Blackjacks within reach between its attacking effort and perimeter shooting.

The two teams continued to go back and forth, matching one another’s physicality with all players clearly putting their bodies on the line, as tension built up by the possession.

Although Dawson-Boyd continued to chip away, Wabasso came up with a handful of clutch defensive stops and shots to prevail for the win down the stretch, sparked by a 3-pointer from Kemp to earn back a 10-point lead with 2:36 to play, 77-67.

A Rabbits’ steal then led to a fastbreak layup for Kemp to deepen their lead, as the Blackjacks began to intentionally foul for about the final minute and a half. Wabasso performed well at the foul line to finish off the night.

With about 45 seconds remaining, Larson subbed out Liebl for the final time in his stellar prep basketball career, and the two shared a hug as Liebl also did with his teammates down the bench.

Dawson-Boyd will graduate Liebl, Landon Kemen, Broady Nelson and Cole Percy.

The crowd and student sections on both ends showed their support from the jump, filling the gymnasium with cheers following every basket.

Wabasso initially took to a 20-10 lead to start the night with its shots falling promptly along with applying a frequent full-court press to speed up the pace, and Guetter found his hot hand quickly on the scoring end. He had 12 of the Rabbits’ first 24 points, and finished with 13 in the first half alongside Kemp.

Liebl also had his rhythm going, and led all scorers with 16 first-half points.

Wabasso was also in double bonus for about the final two minutes of the first half after Dawson-Boyd was called for its 10th foul, while the Rabbits had six in the opening half.

Both Dawson-Boyd and Wabasso have spent a large part of the regular season ranked top-10 in the state for Class A, or were receiving votes, setting Tuesday up for a competitive battle. The two met once in the regular season with the Blackjacks winning by 10 points.

Wabasso (26-3) now moves onto the North subsection championship, and the winner from there will advance to the section title game next Thursday with a state tournament berth on the line. The Rabbits will face top-seeded Central Minnesota Christian (26-1) on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Southwest Minnesota State University. The Bluejays defeated No. 4 Renville County West 89-45 in Tuesday’s semifinals.