WORTHINGTON -- Tournament time is here and teams are quickly preparing for the march toward the Minnesota State High School boys' basketball tournament.
Section 3A South
The Ellsworth Panthers (17-0, 23-2) garnered the No. 1 seed in the south and will have a bye in the first round before playing either Hills- Beaver Creek or Southwest Star Concept at 1 p.m. in Worthington on Saturday.
"Our goal was to win the Red Rock Conference and get the No. 1 seed in the south, and we've achieved those goals," Ellsworth head coach Markus Okeson said. "We're No. 1, but every night is going to be a battle. Everyone is going to be trying to knock us off; we definitely have a target on our backs."
The No. 2 Southwest Christian Eagles (14-3, 17-5), who lost a tight game to the Adrian Dragons March 1, will also receive a first-round bye and will play the either Fulda or Round Lake-Brewster at 4:30 p.m. in Worthington on Saturday.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It's nice to be opposite Ellsworth in the bracket," SWC head coach Jamie Pap said. "But during tournament time, anybody can beat anybody; it's going to be a dogfight. If we play our game, we'll be fine. It should be a great tournament.
No. 3 Adrian (11-6, 15-8) will also begin tournament play Saturday, in a 6 p.m. contest in Worthington. The Dragons will square off against either Red Rock Central or Edgerton.
The No. 4 and 5 teams, Murray County Central (9-8, 14-11) and Westbrook-Walnut Grove (10-7, 16-8), respectively, will face each other at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Worthington.
The Red Rock Central Falcons (10-7, 15-8) finished the regular season with solid victories against MCC and SSC. The Falcons will play No. 11 (1-16, 4-19) Edgerton in a first-round game at 7 p.m. Thursday in Slayton.
The No. 7 Fulda Raiders (8-9, 9-13) will have to lift their game after losing their final two contests. The Raiders will face No. 10 Round Lake-Brewster (3-14, 7-16) at 6 p.m. Thursday in Edgerton.
The second game of the night in Edgerton will feature No. 8 Hills-Beaver Creek (8-9, 10-13), who won just one game in its last six, against No. 9 Southwest Star Concept (4-13, 9-16). Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Class AA South
Snatching the No. 1 seed in the southwest, the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers (12-3, 18-7) will host the No. 4 (SW) seeded Luverne Cardinals (1-11, 3-20) at 7 p.m. Thursday in Tracy.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Panthers stumbled toward the end of the regular season and will have to be well prepared for the experienced Cardinals.
"We're glad to be opening the tournament at home," T-M-B head coach Rick Haberman said. "We're going into the postseason with the philosophy that everyone is 0-0.
"We didn't end our regular season playing our best basketball, so we've been spending a lot of time working on defense and rebounding in practice," Haberman added. "Luverne has had great postseason success over the last three years. We'll be contending with a team that is tournament savvy, so we'll have to be at our best."
The Pipestone Area Arrows (6-6, 11-11) garnered the No. 2 seed in the southwest and will open tournament play as host to the No. 3 Windom Eagles (5-7, 9-15). Game time is slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday.
The Jackson County Central Huskies (5-7, 10-14) earned the No. 2 seed in the southeast. The Huskies will host the No. 3 Fairmont Cardinals (9-1, 14-9). The Thursday evening contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Section 2A South
The Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin Wolverines (7-10, 12-12) are the No. 4 seed in the southern bracket. The Wolverines will host the No. 5 seeded Truman Bluejays (4-9, 10-15) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
