Both Mora and Milaca's boys basketball teams trudged through the near blizzard conditions on Saturday out to St. John's University. Both were set to play the in the quarterfinals, if each won they'd meet once again in the section semi final.
Mora vs Melrose.
It wasn't the best start for the Mustangs, but they were out to a quick lead. The Dutchmen did a good job of making sure they didn't allow Mora to get themselves rolling from the perimeter. The Mustangs combatted that with tremendous play driving to the basket. Specifically Gage Braiedy, he used his crazy handles to slash through the defense and hit some easy layups to help maintain the lead at half 25-19.
The 2nd half saw the Mustangs slowly pull away. Their defense complicated everything Melrose tried to do. Their offense stayed patient and continued to play smart, taking high percentage shots and grabbing plenty of rebounds. Mora punched their ticket to the semi final game with a 54-40 victory.
Scoring
Mora
Gage Braiedy 17
Dallas Fix 14
Jonah Smart 11
Max Sampson 7
James Oslin 3
Joshua Heggernes 2
Milaca vs Annandale
The Wolves couldn't seem to find the sweet spot on offense in the first half against the Cardinals. As Andy Beckstrom put it "The rims here tonight were made in Annandale", and it sure felt like it. Milaca couldn't seem to get any sort of kind bounce from the rim. Meanwhile for Annandale they took a page out of Mora's playbook, stay patient on offense and grab all the rebounds on defense. This helped them to a 21-18 lead at half.
Milaca is used to scoring a bunch, their season average is near the 75 mark per game. So they were in a bit of unfamiliar territory. But this didn't hinder them, as the 2nd half began you could certainly see Milaca gain momentum. Lewis Wolbert helped the Wolves not only retake the lead but put the game away. It seemed like he couldn't miss if he tried, and he shot from anywhere and over and through anyone. As the offense found it's groove the defense followed suit and the game was Milaca's to lose. The Wolves came away victorious 46-34.
Scoring
Milaca
Peyton Hunt and Lewis Wolbert 14
Trace Hasz 9
Braden Taylor 7
Kyle Martin 2
Mora and Milaca will meet for the third time this season in the section semi final on Wednesday at St. John's University. The winner punches their ticket to the championship game at St. Cloud State on Friday.