Prep Boys Basketball: Fast start lifts Menahga past conference rival Sebeka, 73-60 (UPDATED)

Menahga. Minn.—Two Austen Schwartz three-pointers and a fastbreak basket from Markus Tolkkinen gave Menahga a quick 8-0 start out of the gate en route to the 73-60 Park Region Conference victory over Sebeka on Friday night.

"We came out very flat-footed and Menahga was ready to play.” Sebeka head coach Jon Lillquist explained. “Give Coach Nordick credit. His kids were well prepared and ready to play. I didn't do a good job of getting our team ready.”

The Braves continued to set the tone in the first half by forcing the Trojans into turnovers that led to easy transition baskets. Austen Schwartz frustrated the Sebeka defense even further with his 4 for 5 shooting from the three-point range—his last trey gave Menahga the 14 point lead, 30-16, with 5:03 left before the break.

“Defensively, we are a pressure team. We feel that if we stay the aggressor, this will take other teams out of their comfort zone.” Menahga head coach Jeremy Nordick said. “We were able to do this in key moments of the game. Our guys have been working extremely hard in practice at progressing with our defensive strategies. Our main idea is that "Defensive intensity dictates offensive opportunities", and it was fun to see it executed. There are still some gaps that we need to improve on, but it's early in the season, and we'll continue to make strides.”

Rylan Aho’s free-throw at the 2:55 mark gave Menahga their biggest lead of the first half, which was 18 points (36-18). Sebeka’s Carlos Castro nailed a three-pointer and Menahga’s Tanner Schwartz hit a jumper to close out the first-half scoring.

Three Menahga players already hit double digits as the Braves carried the 38-21 lead into the locker room—Austen Scwartz (12 points), Tanner Schwartz (11 points) and Tolkkinen (10 points).

Sebeka ended up shooting 9 for 26 (33 percent) in the first half, but got 10 points from Paul Funk.

Tanner Schwartz ignited the hometown crowd with a dunk to start off the second half, but Sebeka refused to fold as Austin Cannon hit a three-pointer and Justin Clark netted three consecutive baskets. Two free-throws from Castro made it 43-32 with 13:50 left as both teams settled into an aggressive, hard-nosed basketball mode with plenty of fouls to boot.

The Braves built their lead to 22-points (65-43) at one point until foul trouble allowed the Trojans to make a run with under three minutes left in the game.

With Menahga nursing a 18-point cushion (65-48), the Trojans’ Tom Houle ignited a 12-2 run with a putback. A pair of free-throws from Cannon and Tanner Brockpahler was followed by a three-pointer from Funk. With 1:10 left to play, Funk made a driving layup and was fouled. The senior sank the free-throw to complete the three-point play and pulled the Trojans to within seven points, 67-60.

But turnovers during their next three possessions sealed the Trojans’ fate as Menahga closed out the game on a 6-0 run.

“We need to cut down on turnovers, you just can't turn the ball over that much and think you are going to win a game.” Lillquist stated.

Sebeka turned the ball over 31 times in the game, which led to 26 points for Menahga.

Tanner Schwartz picked up another 10 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 21 points. The 6-foot-4 junior posted team highs in rebounds (15) and steals (10) to complete his triple-double performance. Tolkkinen had a double-double with 20 points and 10 boards.

“Tanner has worked very hard at his game over the past year. Last season he was more of a spot up shooter, and came off the bench in limited minutes.” Nordick explained. “He's really been focused on developing his all around game and has become a very versatile player. He was very motivated Friday night to show how far his game has come, and really played well. The part that I really like about his game is his defensive aggressiveness. He's been jumping the passing lanes, and been very active on the defensive boards. I knew he had the talent to put up big numbers in the scoring column, but he's becoming a leader on the defensive end, which is fun to see.”

Menahga ended up shooting 48 percent (27 for 56) from the field. Austen Schwartz hit all five of the Braves’ three-pointers to finish with 19 points on the night.

“Austen has the potential to go on big scoring runs. He's shown this since his elementary days.” Nordick said. “He had some open looks at the basket and was able to knock them down. It really helped us get going early in the game, and we were able to sustain that momentum through with his consistency from beyond the arc.”

Funk was the top scorer for Sebeka with 19 points. The senior also had a team-high six steals in the loss. The Trojans shot 20 for 59 (34 percent) from the floor and also got 11 points from Cannon. Clark added eight points and a team-high 12 boards. Bryson Vasey had 10 rebounds and five assists before fouling out with 3:13 remaining in the game.

“It was a fun game that was really intense down the stretch of the second half. We were happy to come out with a win in a big time rivalry game where anything can happen.” Nordick added. “This game always is extra emotional for me, being that I’m the football coach of a lot of guys on both teams. You want to see the kids be successful, as I know all of them are working hard and deserve to win. I'm glad we came out on top, but on the nights we're not playing the Trojans, I am cheering them on and want the best for those guys.”

Menahga (2-0) will travel to Frazee at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday while Sebeka (0-2) heads to Isle for another boys-girls doubleheader on Saturday.

Sebeka at Menahga on December 9
Braves 73, Trojans 60
Sebeka 21 39—60
Menahga 38 35—73
Sebeka
Carlos Castro 11, Tom Houle 4, Paul Funk 19, Austin Cannon 11, Tanner Brockpahler 3, Justin Clark 8, Mitchell Hesse 2, Bryson Vasey 2
Menahga
Tanner Schwartz 21, Markus Tolkkinen 20, Austen Schwartz 19, Brandon Junes 8, Rylan Aho 1, Levi Schwartz 1, Stetson Burkman 2, Justin Luedke 1