The Rushford-Peterson Trojans lost to the Southland Rebels, 73-55 in the Section 1A tournament semifinals at Rochester Century High School on Monday, March 22. A second-half scoring drought, contrasted with lights-out shooting by the Rebels, made the contest the final game of the R-P season. R-P finished their campaign at 13-7 overall, while the Rebels (18-2) advanced to the Section 1A title game against Hayfield on Wednesday night, March 24.
Both teams came into the section semifinal with impressive streaks and playing some of their best basketball of the season. The Trojans won their last five regular-season games and their first two playoff games against Bethlehem Academy (74-43) and Wabasha-Kellogg (54-28). The Rebels had won 12 of their last 13 games and were the section’s top-seeded team.
R-P’s Justin Ruberg scored the first basket of the game. Ruberg, one of the Trojan’s top offensive weapons, would score only six more points as Southland defenders swarmed him every time he touched the basketball. R-P had a 6-0 scoring run to take a 13-8 lead with 11 minutes to go in the first half. Trailing 20-15 with under seven minutes to go, the Rebels their own 7-0 scoring run to take a 22-20 lead. All seven points of those points came from Ethan Forthun, the game’s top scorer with 23 points.
“I thought we hung in there really well in the first half,” said Trojans coach Chris Drinkall. “Justin (Ruberg) and Luke (O’Hare) got two fouls late, which did hinder us a bit. We went into halftime down three, and I thought we’d be in a good position coming out for the second half.”
Southland led 29-26 at the half and came out firing after the break. While the Trojans couldn’t buy a basket for the first 10 minutes of the second half, Southland went on a 14-1 scoring run to break the game open. The only point scored during the drought came on a Ben Weiser free throw. The Rebels outscored R-P 44-26 after the half to roll to an 18-point win.
Despite a good Southland defense, the Trojans were getting good looks at the basket in the second half. But Drinkall said the shots just weren’t going in. “Southland caught fire in the second half, especially from outside the arc,” he said. “It’s hard when you fall behind like that. You try to do things like full-court pressing them to get back in the game, and then you wind up giving up some easy buckets in transition on the other end.
“Our kids didn’t quit playing hard till the final buzzer,” he added. “As a coach, I couldn’t be prouder of their effort. We came a long way from where we began the season to where we ended it.”
Grady Hengel led the team with 18 points, hitting seven of nine shots. O’Hare scored 14 points while grabbing five rebounds and Ruberg chipped in eight points and a team-high seven boards.
In addition to Forthun’s big night, Southland got 22 points from Nick Boe, including six three-point baskets. Dan Boe and Eli Wolff each added 10 points for the Rebels.
“Forthun was a beast on the inside,” Drinkall added. “They also have good shooters from the outside, and when you have a balanced team like that, it’s really hard to defend against them.”
The Trojans say goodbye to five seniors, including Jonah Sievers, Trey Olson, Luke O’Hare, Hale Stensgard, and Ben Wieser.
“I’ve seen or coached a lot of our kids since they were in fifth and sixth grade, Drinkall said. “I told the guys after the game how much I appreciated their hard work this season. After everything they’ve had to miss because of COVID, they’ll be ready to handle whatever the world throws at them.”
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