The Mustangs and Wolves battled for the third time this year in the section semi final game on Thursday at Sexton Arena on the campus of St. John's. The winner would punch their ticket to the championship game on Friday against Albany.
It seemed both teams got out to the start they would've wanted. Early on Mora's defense did a solid job keeping the Wolves quiet on the scoreboard. But the Wolves finally broke out on offense and took the lead. The Wolves began to build on their lead and had two 10+ point leads in the first half. But Mora fought back and wasn't going to allow Milaca to run away with it. Even though Mora kept it close Milaca had the advantage on second chance scoring, which is where they did most of their work. The Mustangs unfortunately couldn't get the 2nd chance opportunities because Milaca had swallowed up all the rebounds. The Wolves lead at half 38-31.
Coming out of half Mora had seemingly turned the tides. Their offense began to roll and the defense made some big stops. Mid way through the 2nd half Milaca's offense went cold and Mora pounced on this opportunity to retake the lead. They continued to deny Milaca any open shots and kept their offense rolling. Under 3 minutes to go, both teams got hot. They began trading the lead and tying the game multiple times. Neither team could pull away and the game seemed destined for overtime. That was until the Wolves hit a massive three pointer to give themselves a two point lead. Mora would of course go down and tie the game but Milaca seemed to have an advantage. As the clock rolled on both teams began to send each other to the free throw line. With a 2 point deficit and only seconds left Mora had one more chance to tie or take the lead. But their inbound pass was stolen, and the Wolves made both shots at the line to go ahead by 4. Sadly for the Mustangs they did hit a buzzer beater three but it wasn't enough. The Wolves got the victory 69-68.
Milaca will play on Friday at St. Cloud State in the section championship game against Albany! Good luck to the Wolves.
For Mora the loss ends the season. It was a terrific season for the Mustangs they should be proud of! Congratulations to the Mustangs on a great season, and good luck to the seniors going forward!
Scoring
Milaca
Lewis Wolbert 20
Trace Hasz 17
Peyton Hunt 16
Kyle Martin 7
Jaeger Ash 5
Braden Taylor 4
Mora
Gage Braiedy 25
Max Sampson 21
Jonah Smart 14
Dallas Fix 6
Madox Balmer 2