Prep Boys Basketball: Section 5A Playoffs: Sebeka dispatches Pine River-Backus, 81-45

Ryan Sharp led all scorers with 22 points as top-seeded Sebeka easily dispatched eighth-seed Pine River-Backus 81-45 during the West Subsection 5A quarterfinals on Thursday.

Sebeka head coach Jon Lillquist wasn’t too overly impressed despite the large margin of the victory.

“It was a sloppy game at times with a lot of turnovers, but at this point of the season you'll take a win however you get it.” He stated. “We shot the ball real well and that made up for a lot of turnovers.”

The Trojans committed an uncharacteristic 19 turnovers, but more than made up for it by scorching the nets with some hot shooting. They shot 47 percent (27-for-57) from the field and 45 percent (13-for-29) from beyond the arc during the rout.

“We forced 25 turnovers on defense, so at least we were attacking on the defensive end.” Lillquist added.

The defensive turnovers resulted in 39 points as Sebeka ended up having four starters post double digits. Cody Pulju went 5-for-7 from downtown to finish with 19 points, two rebounds, three assists and a team-high five steals. John Clark posted a double-double for the Trojans with 15 points and a team-high 11 boards and Paul Funk netted 11 points.

Sharp capped the night with an all-around performance from the floor. The senior also added eight rebounds, a team-high seven assists, two blocked shots and four steals as the second-ranked Trojans (25-2) advanced to Saturday’s 6 p.m. semifinals with Bertha-Hewitt in Wadena.

Pine River-Backus shot 34 percent (17-for-50) from the floor and were led by Nathan Holm with a team-high 18 points in the loss. Todd Woelfl added nine points for the Tigers, who finish the season with a 13-14 record.

Section 5A Playoffs
No. 1 Sebeka vs. No. 8 Pine River-Backus on March 10
Trojans 81, Tigers 45
PR-B 25 20—45
Sebeka 42 39—81
Pine River-Backus
Kyle Witt 3, Todd Woelfel 9, Nathan Holm 18, Russell Burgoyne 3, Sam Ruohoniemi 4, Beau Howard 3, Jake Sepin 2, Aaron Kottschade 3
Sebeka
Jason Sharp 3, John Clark 15, Cody Pulju 19, Paul Funk 11, Ryan Sharp 22, Austin Cannon 3, Carlos Castro 2, Reid Redetzke 4, Zach Sorenson 2