Postseason Preview: Section 8A
photo courtesy of Drew Herron of SportsEngine Section basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections. Here’s the lowdown on Section 8A: Favorite: Red Lake (East), Ada…
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Continue Readingphoto courtesy of Drew Herron of SportsEngine
Section basketball is just around the corner and as the season comes to a close, it’s time to start looking at individual sections.
Here’s the lowdown on Section 8A:
Favorite: Red Lake (East), Ada Borup (West)
Red Lake is the two-time defending section champion and should be considered the favorite to get to the state tournament again. The Warriors outscore opponents by nearly 30 points per game and have just four losses on the year. They were one of only a few teams to give Minneapolis North a good game and their one stinker on the year was a loss to Nevis – another top five team in Class A.
Rob McClain is one of the top players in the state and Jamie Cook, Kendall Whitefeather and William Morrison are all-conference caliber players as well.
Ada-Borup is the top team in the West subsection
Bryce Nitschke sets the tone in the backcourt for the Cougars and is their top scoring option. The strength of the team is on the interior where freshman big man Mason Miller and forwards Tanner Somers and Connor Thompson give the team a size advantage over just about every other team in the section. With a handful of quality wins that includes Lake-Park-Audubon, Norman County East and Stephen-Argyle and just two losses on the year, the Cougars should be considered the favorite to get through to the section final.
In the Hunt: Stephen-Argyle (West), Win-E-Mac (East), Cass Lake-Bena (East)
If Red Lake is going to get to another section final or further, the Warriors will have to earn it. They’ll likely face stiff competition in a potential subsection final matchup with either Win-E-Mac and Cass Lake-Bena.
Alec Kieker and Hunter Chaput give Win-E-Mac a pair of steady and reliable seniors who can both put up points and Brekken Lindberg’s a budding inside presence.
Cass Lake brings an explosive offense to the table and the Panthers have the talent to contend for a subsection title. They’ve got young talent all over the floor with guys like Arnold Kingbird, Noah DeLapaz and Ethan Brown. Terick Frazer is a steady senior presence for them in the backcourt as well. Cass Lake’s lost to Red Lake three times this year. So whatever people say about how tough it is to beat a team three times in a year, maybe four times is actually the charm.
Stephen-Argyle’s put together a terrific season with 20 wins and only three losses. The Storm lost a close game to Red Lake, by 12 to Win-E-Mac and were blown out by Ada-Borup.
Chris McGlynn and Isaac Mills have been strong all year and while the rest of the team is fairly young, those guys are in their last go-round.
In the Mix: Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzke, Northern Freeze, Kittson County Central
Blaine Kriel is a waterbug of a guard who despite being listed at 5-foot-8 can fill it up for Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzka. Ben Groven gives the Chargers a strong inside and double-double type presence.
Connor Sorenson and Jonah Underdahl have led Northern Freeze through an excellent year and while they haven’t played Ada-Borup, they were swept by Stephen-Argyle in the regular season.
Kittson County Central hasn’t had much success against the section contenders but with a veteran, upperclass-laden team, the Bearcats have the experience and are playing well over the last half of the season.
Projected Seedings
Section 8A – East
- Red Lake
- Win-E-Mac
- Cass Lake-Bena
- Fosston
- Northome-Kelliher
- Blackduck
- Clearbook-Gonvick
- Lake of the Woods
- Mahnomen
Section 8A – West
- Ada-Borup
- Stephen-Argyle
- Northern Freeze
- Goodridge-Grygla-Gatzka
- Kittson County Central
- Sacred Heart
- Fertile-Beltrami
- Norman County West
- Climax/Fisher
- Warren-Alvarado-Oslo
- Red Lake County