A victory is an impressive state tournament debut for any team, but Fond du Lac Ojibwe, a school with 34 students, made it three times as special for its large fan base.
Playing in front of a spirited crowd at Williams Arena, the Ogichidaag defeated Canby 85-82 in three overtimes Thursday in the Class 1A quarterfinals.
They will play top-seeded Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa on Friday in the semifinals at the Target Center.
"[To] get a win down here like that, I can't even imagine it right now," Fond du Lac coach Earl Otis said. "The boys were yelling in that locker room, 'We're going to the Target Center, guys!' "
Ogichidaag junior Davonte Williamson played all 48 minutes and grabbed 20 rebounds, 13 of which came after halftime. He also had 23 points, five assists and eight turnovers.
The athletic forward played with four fouls throughout the overtimes. Two other Fond du Lac starters had fouled out.
"I'm surprised I did it myself," Williamson said. "I just had to dig deep, play clean defense."
Williamson's defense was more than clean — he made a potential game-saving block at the end of the first overtime and had the game-clinching steal at the end of the third overtime.
After a slow start, the No. 5-seeded Ogichidaag (24-3) dominated the end of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the second half. They played loose and in control until No. 4-seeded Canby (25-5) switched to a trapping defense and stopped settling for outside shots.
The Lancers used a 15-0 run to tie the score at 58-58 late in the second half, and the teams traded runs from then until the third overtime.
Canby's top scorer, Michael Slaba, had 35 points, five assists and nine turnovers.
CHARLIE ARMITZ
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 85, Park Christian 50: The Jaguars (29-1) have been among the state's elite the past six years. Nothing worse than having them walk onto the Williams Arena floor with a chip on their shoulder.
The Jaguars closed the first half on a 34-5 run to take a 29-point lead and cruised into the semifinals.
"Right after our loss last year we talked about getting back here," Jaguars senior floor leader Brian Goodwin said. Top-ranked Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa was upset by Wheaton-Herman-Norcross 66-59 in the Section 6 semifinals a year ago.
Goodwin scored 19 of his game-high 35 points in the opening half.
"We've been playing pretty well since the playoffs started," Goodwin said. "We've been rolling."
"We shot the ball pretty well, and I don't think they had seen anybody with our speed," said Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa coach Dave Montbriand, who has guided the Jaguars to a 168-13 record over the past six seasons.
RON HAGGSTROM
Maranatha 95, Red Lake 67: The Mustangs are accustomed to the big stage. It showed quickly against the inexperienced Warriors.
A poised and veteran Maranatha (26-3) squad, coming off a state tournament runner-up finish a year ago, scored 11 unanswered points in the opening moments of the quarterfinal matchup and was never threatened by Red Lake (23-8). The Warriors were making their first state tournament appearance since 2003.
Juniors Jeremiah Hanson (16 points) and Jake Meyen (15 points) combined for 31 first-half points, leading Maranatha to a 45-28 lead at halftime. Hanson finished with 31 points, Meyen with 21.
"I thought we played great," Hanson said. "We moved the ball well, and got open shots. We got out in transition, and got layups. We played great defense, too."
Red Lake senior guard Ryan Holthusen finished his career with 28 points.
RON HAGGSTROM
Rushford-Peterson 71, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 63: The Trojans made it a goal at the start of the season to make the Class 1A championship game.
Third-seeded Rushford-Peterson (30-1) is now one step closer.
The Trojans forced 21 turnovers and overcame 12 of their own. With the win, it earned a matchup with second-seeded Maranatha Christian Academy in the semifinals, a repeat of last year's semifinal game that the Trojans lost.
"It was a battle last year, so hopefully we can get some revenge this year," Rushford-Peterson guard Cole Kingsley said. "But it'll be a great challenge for us."
Kingsley led Rushford-Peterson with 18 points. He helped limit the Falcons' leading scorer, senior guard Taylor Larson, to 15 points on 6-for-15 shooting.
"He had to really work hard to get his shots," Trojans coach Thomas Vix said. "I really thought we did a pretty good job of keeping him from having that big, monster game."
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City never trailing by more than 12 despite Larson's quiet day. Falcons freshman center Gabriel Eisenbacher scoring 16 of his 18 points in the second half to keep the game close.
Eisenbacher cut the Trojans' lead to five with 6:31 left, but a subsequent 7-0 run by Rushford-Peterson put the game out of reach.
NATE GOTLIEB
