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Thunderbirds Remain Perfect with Hard Fought Win Over Hillcrest

By Craig Olson, 03/23/21, 2:45PM CDT

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Hillcrest Lutheran Academy gave top-seeded Mahnomen-Waubun all they wanted on Saturday afternoon, however, the Thunderbirds were able to overcome a 10 point halftime deficit to record a 64-56 win and advance to the Section 6A semifinals.

“Heartbreaker for our team,” commented Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin. “We were up 10 at halftime and felt really good about our defensive intensity and our shot selection. Except for the 17 turnovers (which is still really difficult to digest) it was probably one of the best halves we played all year.”

Mahnomen-Waubun shot 49% (24-49) for the day and made 36.4% (4-11) of their 3-point attempts.  Hillcrest made 44% (22-50) of their shots from the field and just 5-of-22 (23%) from 3-point range.  Thirty turnovers cost the Comets.

“I thought, defensively, we continued to play at a high level in the second half,” noted Garvin. “Unfortunately, when Mahnomen started doing what they do best - disrupt your rhythm - we played into it. I thought, for the most part our shot selection was pretty good. If we would have hit even a couple of shots during the first 7 or 8 minutes at the beginning of the half, I think the trajectory of the game changes quite a bit. But their pressure really got to us and we rushed a few possessions and began playing a little bit frantically and that is when Mahnomen can smell blood. Again, they did exactly what we knew they would do and they did a great job of executing down the stretch. There's a reason they are a top ranked team. They are really good. They are really unselfish. We got beat by a very good team.”

Leaders for the Comets were Micah Foss (19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists) and Zeke Ihrke (15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists).  Noah Brumfield contributed 7 points, Sam Brumfield added 6 points and 2 assists and Yuchan Ha led the team with 3 assists and 3 steals.

The Thunderbirds had four players in double figures, led by 18 from Rolando Ellis, who also had 6 steals in the game.  Tanner Pazdernik added 12 points, 5 steals, 3 assists and 4 rebounds, Payton Keezer had 11 point and 10 rebounds to go along with 3 assists, and Lode Clark finished with 10 points and 4 steals.  Dennis Ashley had a team high 4 assists, while adding 4 points and 4 rebounds.  Cooper Houdek wound up with 9 points and 4 steals.

“Always difficult to be done,” concluded Coach Garvin. “Coach (Gregg) Preston texted me after the game and we talked about how ‘it's as if your family has broken up.’ I told him ‘very much so.’ This family really liked each other. We'll be grieving this one for a little while. We're going to miss our seniors - top to bottom. They led us in every aspect of the team concept.”

Hillcrest ends the season with a final record of 12 wins and 7 losses.

Mahnomen-Waubun goes into their North sub-section championship game at home against New York Mills on Wednesday with a perfect 20-0 record.