MANKATO -- For the second year in a row, the Worthington Trojans boys' basketball team saw its season end at Mankato East High School.
Mankato East pulled away after Worthington's Joel Olson fouled out with about five minutes left in regulation, as the fourth-seeded Cougars defeated the fifth-seeded Trojans Tuesday, 58-47, in the quarterfinals of the Section 2AAA tournament.
Mankato East improved to 14-12 with the victory, while Worthington capped its season with a 9-14 mark.
One area where the Trojans could not repeat the results of the first meeting this year was foul trouble, especially in the case of Olson -- who picked up two fouls in the first half, then was saddled with two quick fouls to open the second half, forcing him to the bench.
Worthington trailed 31-28 at that point, but stayed in the game after Mankato East scored eight of the next 10 points, eventually pulling back within 43-40 on a basket from Olson -- immediately after he returned to the game -- and a free throw from Quentin Dudley.
ADVERTISEMENT
Worthington stayed within three, 45-42, with about five minutes left in the game when Olson was called for his fifth foul as the Cougars' Andy Hage attempted a shot. With Olson fouling out, the Worthington offense went with him as the Trojans hit only two of their last nine field goal attempts, and one free throw.
"(Olson)'s been our guy," WHS head coach Mike Vorwald said. "To lose him certainly hurt."
Mankato East, meanwhile, pulled away by outscoring Worthington 11-1, giving the Cougars a 56-43 lead that was too much for the Trojans to overcome.
Worthington went into the game trying to contain Mankato East leading scorer Jordan Cunningham. To their credit, the Trojans did just that, holding the junior to just four points in the first half. Cunningham ended with 11 points.
Michael Olafson, however, made up the scoring void in the first half, notching 13 of his team's 28 points -- including the Cougars' last five points of the half -- to help grab a 28-24 lead at the break. Olafson finished with a game-high 19 points.
The production from both Cunningham and Olafson could've been higher, had it not been for the solid defensive efforts of Adou Omot. He guarded Cunningham in the first half, and made it tough for the Mankato East star to get the ball inside. In the second half, Omot was switched onto Olafson, and limited him to three field goals.
Worthington had balanced scoring in the first 18 minutes, with Mike Vorwald and Quentin Dudley each scoring seven points.
The Trojans did most of their damage in the first half from the free-throw line, hitting 8-of-10 attempts. The foul shooting helped make up for a low shooting percentage in the first half as Worthington hit only 7-of-20 attempts (35 percent).
ADVERTISEMENT
"We did a nice job taking the ball to the basket," Vorwald added. "We knocked down free throws, which was encouraging."
Mankato East, meanwhile, hit 11-of-21 shots (52 percent), including 2-of-7 from 3-point range. The perimeter shooting was a far cry from the first meeting of the season, when the Cougars hit 11 3-pointers.
Mankato East never really got its 3-point shooting going in the game, hitting 4-of-15 attempts, but made up for it with a solid free-throw performance in the second half, hitting 9-of-10 attempts.
For the game, Mankato East hit 20-of-41 field goal attempts (49 percent), while Worthington was held to 17-of-48 shooting (35 percent).
Dudley finished with a team-high 12 points for the Trojans, while Mike Vorwald had 11 points.
Jon Rivers added 10 points to the Mankato East effort.
Despite the loss, there were positive signs for the Trojans this year. And with six players returning in 2008, things appear to be looking up.
"We had great chemistry. We cared about one another," Vorwald said. "We had great leadership. (Dudley) and (Olson) were leaders by example.
ADVERTISEMENT
"These guys were a joy to coach, and our young kids learned a little bit more about what varsity basketball is all about. We gained some valuable experience."
WHS 24 23 -- 47
Mankato East 28 30 -- 58
WHS: Vorwald 1-3-2-11, Meinders 1-0-0-3, Omot 0-4-1-9, Knutson 0-0-4-4, Dudley 0-4-4-12, Ahrens 0-1-0-2, Olson 0-3-0-6. Totals: 2-15-11-47.
ME: Ford 0-1-1-3, Olafson 0-8-3-19, Hage 1-0-3-6, Welter 0-3-3-9, Rivers 2-2-0-10, Cunningham 1-2-4-11. Totals: 4-16-14-58.
