WINDOM -- Switching at halftime from man-to-man defense to an aggressive, trapping 1-2-2 zone, the Pipestone Arrows rallied throughout the game's last 18 minutes and claimed a thrilling 51-49 victory over Martin County West Tuesday night in the semifinals of the Section 3AA South Sub-section boys' basketball tournament.
With the victory, the Arrows (13-11) advance to Saturday's championship game against the Fairmont Cardinals, who defeated top-seeded Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the second semifinal, 60-46.
MCW, the second-seeded team in the South, ends a fine season with an 18-8 mark.
The Mavericks had the lead most of the first half and held off several Arrow rallies in the second half, before a driving cross-over lay-up -- off a steal -- by Doug Mead gave PA a 43-42 lead with just over four minutes to play.
The basket by Mead capped an exciting 17-6 run by the Arrows and set the stage for a nail-biting finish.
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A steal by PA's Shelby Jones led to a 10-foot pull-up jumper in the lane by Sam Schneider, which brought the Arrows to within one, 42-41, eight seconds before Mead's steal and lay-up electrified the Arrow fans.
Following Mead's basket, the Mavericks quickly recaptured the lead (44-43) with an inside bucket by Nick Sandberg (17 points).
The Arrows responded with a feed from Mead (18 points, four steals, five rebounds, five assists) to Greg Quist (13 points, seven rebounds, three steals) that gave PA a 46-45 with 3:15 left in the game.
MCW's Jon Traetow powered inside for a hoop 17 seconds later and was fouled. Traetow converted the three-point play, lifting the Mavericks to a 47-45 advantage.
After a defensive stop by the Mavericks, MCW increased the lead to 49-45 when Alex Carpenter fed inside to Traetow with 2:11 to play.
But the Arrows were not through. With 1:45 on the clock, Mead penentrated the Maverick defense and scored, closing the gap to 49-47.
Thirty seconds later, Schneider (11 points, five assists, three steals) came up with a steal and drained his third 3-pointer of the game, giving PA a 50-49 edge with 1:15 to play.
Mead then rebounded a missed Maverick shot, and the Arrows tried to work the clock, but lost possession with 30 seconds left.
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MCW's Geoff Krumwiede got off a contested shot with 13 seconds left, and the long rebound was claimed by Jones, who streaked down court with the ball and was fouled with six seconds to play. Jones made the first shot, increasing the Arrow lead to 51-49, but missed the second.
Krumweide's long 3-pointer with two seconds left missed the mark, as did the rebound effort by Carpenter, and the Arrows had secured their comeback victory.
"That's how it's going for us," exclaimed PA head coach Todd Tinklenberg. "We have been involved in lots of close games this season, and lately we have found ways to win them."
The victory was PA's seventh straight and came after the Arrows overcame a 32-24 halftime deficit.
"We were able to get them (MCW) out of their rhythm with the trapping zone," said Tinklenberg. "We came up with some big steals and key rebounds at crucial times."
Leading the Arrow charge on the boards was Tyler Maschino, who claimed eight rebounds and rejected a pair of Maverick shot attempts. Jones pulled down five rebounds, for the Arrows, who shot 50 percent (21-of-42) from the field and netted seven 3-pointers in the game.
"Pipestone has a nice team," said MCW head coach Cliff Anderson. "We had trouble with their trap and were not able to execute the way we would have liked to."
In the first half, MCW broke out to a 16-10 lead before the Arrows went on a 7-0 run and took a 17-16 lead, but the Mavericks countered with a 7-0 run of their own to earn a 24-17 advantage.
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The teams battled evenly the rest of the half, but MCW had its eight-point halftime lead, 32-24, and extended the margin to 36-26 in the second half before the Arrows began their final push -- starting with a 3-pointer by Mead, who hit four such shots in the game.
PA's defense limited the Mavericks to just 20 (3-of-15) from beyond the arc, while MCW shot 40 percent (21-of-53) from the field for the game.
PA 24 27 -- 51
MCW 32 17 -- 49
PA (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) Schneider 3-1-0-11, Mead 4-3-0-18, Quist 0-6-1-13, Nelson 0-1-0-2, Maschino 0-3-0-6, Jones 0-0-1. Totals 7-14-2-51
MCW (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) Weber 0-1-0-2, Williams 0-3-0-6, Z.Krumweide 1-0-0-3, Carpenter 0-3-0-6, G.Krumweide 2-1-0-8, Traetow 0-2-3-7, Sandberg 0-8-1-17. Totals 3-18-4-49.
