Dec 21, 2024
Staff phot by Travis Rosenau Wabasso’s Tavyn Larson (21) puts up a shot in the lane while guarded by New Ulm Cathedral’s Jack Edwards (24) during a Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Tomahawk Division boys basketball game Friday night at Cathedral High School.
NEW ULM — The Wabasso Rabbits came into their Tomahawk-Valley Conference, Tomahawk Division game averaging 85 points a game.
After a slow first half that saw the Rabbits score just 37 points, Wabasso exploded in the second half.
Wabasso put up 54 points in the second half to erase a 7-point halftime deficit and went on to a 91-77 win over the Greyhounds Friday night,
Brayden Guetter led the Rabbits (4-3, 3-2) with 21 points. Calvin Hanna added 14 and Jack Burns 10.
Jake Finstad led Cathedral (3-3, 3-1) with a game-high 26 points. Colin Anderson ended with 13 with Jack Edwards adding 12 and Eli Anderson 10.
The Greyhounds came out of the gates to take a double-digit lead at 25-12 on Finstad’s fourth 3 of the opening half and then increased that margin to 32-19 on an Eli Anderson 3.
It was a first half where the Greyhounds hit 8 of 15 shots from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, the Rabbits connected on only four of 15 shots from 3 and the Greyhounds defense forced 10 turnovers.
“We were cold and came out slow,” Wabasso head coach Scott Leopold said about the first 18 minutes. “But once we got into rhythm, the shots fell for us. I just told them that we need to get into their face and play some physical defense and get the rebounds.”
Cathedral head coach Alan Woitas said Wabasso did a great job of getting after the Greyhounds defensively.
“Especially in the second half where they set us up and did some things that we were not used to,” he said. “Credit to them and their kids — they played really hard — and we missed a lot of buckets around the basket. Granted, they were contested, but those are shots that we finish or get to the [free throw] line. We did not shoot a good percentage from there either.”
It was also a half where Finstad, who scored 15 points in first half, was limited in touches by the Rabbits’ defense.
“And we forced some shots,” Woitas said. “We were able to get downhill and get into the lane, but we were not able to finish consistently through some of the contact that was there.”
That let Wabasso outscore the Greyhounds 15-4 to start the second half before Cathedral cut the lead to 61-58 on a Colin Anderson basket.
A Finstad basket got Cathedral to within 81-70 before the Rabbits pulled away for the win.
Leopold said he was happy with his team’s second half performance offensively.
“I told them that if they are open to shoot the ball,” he said. “I can live with a miss but I cannot live with them not shooting the ball.”
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