Red Lake County Rebels Grab 3rd Place at State!

In the quarterfinals the Rebels, who came into the tournament with a #3 ranking, squared up against the Goodhue Wildcats, ranked #6. The Wildcats sported a 22-8 record and averaged 92.5 points per game in their Section 1A Tournament before winning their section. 

The Rebels led 35-22 at the half. The second half started the same as the Rebels expanded their lead to 50-27! Then Goodhue went on a 20-0 run narrowing the gap to 50-47! Rebels fans hearts were beating fast. Even faster when the score reached a 54-54 tie. To break the tie Ben Gullingsrud hit a three and great play down the stretch led to a Rebels 68-61 victory! An even attack helped lead the Rebels to victory. Luke Peterson and Connor Duden each put in 14 points, Will Gieseke and Owen Chervestad followed with 13 each, Ben Gullingsrud added 8, and Ethan Majeres and Ethan Johnson scored 3 each.

In the semi-final match up the Rebels now took on #2 ranked Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks, section 3A Champions. Dawson Boyd defeated Heritage Christian Academy in the quarterfinals to advance to the match up with the Rebels. The Rebels jumped out to a quick lead before the Blackjacks rallied gaining a 38-30 lead approaching half. The Rebels narrowed the gap in part on a 30 foot three pointer at the buzzer by Connor Duden. The score stood 38-35! The Rebels and the Jacks battled back and forth in the 2nd half, but the Blackjacks outlasted the Rebels by a final score of 80-66. Connor Duden topped all scorers with 30, Will Gieseke had 15, Owen Chervestad 10, Luke Peterson 8, Halverson 2, Ethan Johnson 1.

The hometown Rebels now headed to the 3rd place game against a strong Nevis Tigers team.

The Rebels jumped out to 23-9 lead and all was looking great for our team holding on to a 37-26 halftime lead! Nevis would not go away and the game was tied at 52-52 and later at 54-54. Big free throws down the stretch by Duden, Chervestad, and Gullingsrud helped the Rebels hang on winning the 3rd Place Game by a score of 67-62!  Rebels were led in scoring by Connor Duden with 18 followed by 15 for Will Gieseke, Chervestad 8, Gullingsrud 8, Majeres 6, Peterson 4, Thomas 3, Johnson 2.

Congratulations  to Connor Duden and Owen Chervestad on being named to the Class A All-Tournament Team! Red Lake County ended the season with a 31-3 record! Seniors – Owen Chervestad, Luke Peterson, Ethan Majeres, and Gavin Thomas will all be missed!  Thanks coaches, team, managers, schools, parents, and all communities for a great season with colossal support!