Prep Basketball: Sebeka opens season with loss to Browerville, 89-53

Sebeka, Minn.—Paul Funk netted a team-high 19 points and Austin Cannon added 12 for Sebeka during its season-opening 89-53 loss to Browerville in Tuesday’s boys basketball action.

“Browerville showed why they are state ranked,” Sebeka head coach Jon Lillquist said. “Their size was just too much for us to handle.”

The Tigers, ranked No. 11 in the Minnesota Basketball News poll, had four players post double figures in the victory. Seth Christiansen had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds to pace Browerville, who forced the Trojans into 21 turnovers that resulted in 32 points. The senior center also had a team-high seven steals for the Tigers, who improved to 2-0 on the year.

Browerville led 48-21 at the break and outscored the Trojans 41-21 in the second half.

“We are relatively inexperienced with varsity playing time and that definitely showed.” Lillquist added. “We can make a lot of improvements and we learned what we need to do to raise our game.”

Sebeka shot 39 percent (22 for 56) from the floor and were outrebounded by the Tigers, 39-21. The Trojans put up 24 shots from the three-point range and only made eight.

Funk, the only Trojan with significant varsity experience, nailed five three-pointers and dished out a team-high six assists. Cannon had two treys.

“Paul played really well for us and showed why he’s a top player.” Lillquist said. “Austin had a real good first half offensively. If we can count on him for that production, it will be huge.”

Bryson Vasey came off the bench for the Trojans and put up some impressive numbers with six points and four rebounds. Justin Clark had a nice all-around game with five points, seven rebounds, five assists, two blocked shots and one steal.

Mitch Heid nailed four of the Tigers’ eight three-pointers to finish with 18 points. He also shared a team-high five assists along with Kyle Petermeier, who contributed 10 points. Seth Kellen collected 11 points and Conner Burns added 8.

Sebeka (0-1) will tangle with Park Region Conference rival Menahga at 6 p.m. Friday as part of the annual boys-girls doubleheader. Browerville (2-0) travels to West Central Area at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Browerville at Sebeka on December 6
Tigers 89, Trojans 53
Browerville 48 41—89
Sebeka 32 21—53
Browerville
Kyle Petermeier 10 5, Mitch Heid 18 5, Seth Kellen 11, Seth Christiansen 21, Conner Burns 8
Sebeka
Carlos Castro 4, Tom Houle 3, Paul Funk 19, Austin Cannon 12, Justin Clark 5, Mitchell Hesse 4, Bryson Vasey 6