Southwest Christian 71 Upsala 62

Southwest Christian used its size and strength to hold off previously undefeated Upsala 71-62 in the 2nd Class A semi-final at Target Center Saturday afternoon. The Eagles pounded the ball inside to jump off to a quick 25-9 lead at 7:30 of the 1st half. Meanwhile they mostly prevented Upsala from getting their trademark guard penetration into the lane. But midway through the 1st half guard Christian Pekarek was able to get into the lane and a 16-0 Upsala run was the result, tying things up at 25-all at the 3 minute mark. But Upsala was never able to get the lead.

A Dominic Nibbelink 3 made it 32-29 Southwest Christian at the half and a bucket by 6-foot-5 Leighton Sampson from Nibbelink made it 34-29 to open the 2nd. Upsala got within 36-35 on a Nick Frieler 3 but no closer.

Sampson asserted himself midway through the half with a bucket, a throw, a 2 + 1 off the offensive glass and another bucket to make it 50-45, then another put-back and yet another bucket to make it 57-46 at the 2 minute mark. The Eagles had missed a bunch of FT previously, but now they made 12-of-13 down the stretch.


Sampson had 3 buckets, 3 boards and a block in the 1st 4 minutes and he finished the 1st half with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 6 boards and 2 blocks. The only thing that stopped Sampson was the Eagles' turnovers as the half moved on. Upsala never did. Meanwhile, Southwest Christian denied Upsala the lane penetration that is their special sauce. Guards Pekarek and Garrett Wolf had 6 misses and 4 turnovers on their 1st 10 trips into the paint.

But Pekarek started to find cracks in the Eagles defense and to get into the lane. Pekarek scored 1 FG and 8 FT during the 16-0 run and finished the half with 8 points and 2 assists at the half.

Southwest outscored Upsala in the paint 36-16 and had 20 2nd chance points to 9 for Upsala. Sampson finished with 33 points, 12 boards and 3 blocks, while guards Klint Knutson and Nibbelink contributed 12 and 10 respectively. Pekarek scored 22 for Upsala while Frieler added 12 on 4 3s and Avery Smieja scored 10 and grabbed 8 boards.

Player of the Day: Sampson, just a junior, was a man among boys

Southwest Christian had its own way with Upsala for 10:30 of the 1st half, pounding the ball inside to 6-5 Leighton Sampson and pulling out to a 25-9 lead. Suddenly Upsala turned it around, 1st with a series of 3 steals and total Southwest Christian turnovers. Then, Upsala guard Christian Pekarek started to find cracks in the Eagles defense and to get into the lane. Pekarek scored 1 FG and 8 FT as the Cardinals ripped off a 16-0 run to tie it up at 25-all at the 3 minute mark. Pekarek has 8 points and 2 assists at the half.

Avery Smieja was fould on 2 consecutive rebounds and contributed 4-of-4 FT to the run and finished the half with 8 points and 5 boards.

Sampson had 3 buckets, 3 boards and a block in the 1st 4 minutes as the Eagles took a 12-3 lead. He finished the half with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting, 6 boards and 2 blocks. The only thing that stopped Sampson was the Eagles' turnovers. Upsala never did. Meanwhile, Southwest Christian denied Upsala the lane penetration that is their special sauce. Guards Pekarek and Garrett Wolf had 6 misses and 4 turnovers on their 1st 10 trips into the paint.

But they kept on coming and eventually started getting to the rim.

In the 2nd half, Upsala will have to figure out how to keep Sampson from getting such great position down low, while the Eagles will have to take better care of the ball and get back to denying Pekartek, in particular, those easy paths into the lane.