MINNEAPOLIS — Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton’s Class AA state tournament championship run came to end at the hands of a fundamentally sound Albany team on Friday night at the Target Center.
The Huskies combined a deliberate but opportunistic half-court offense with a swarming, lane-clogging defense to outlast the Rebels 79-64 in the Class AA semifinals.
The Rebels, now 25-7, take on Holy Family in the third place game at noon Saturday at Concordia-St. Paul.
Albany, the No. 2 seed, is 31-1 and plays Minnehaha Academy in the championship game at 1 p.m. Saturday.
“This has been our goal since the beginning of the season,” said Albany’s Tysen Gerads, who scored a game-high 31 points. “We’ve got one more game to go.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Gerads, who showcased his hops with four dunks, also glued himself to DGF star Owen Leach on the defensive end throughout the game.
Gerads didn’t shut Leach down but did make it exceedingly difficult for him to get into the kind of rhythm that marked his postseason, which included a 50-point performance in the Section 8AA final.
Leach finished with 30 points but was limited to 8 of 22 shooting and just 3 of 11 shooting from beyond the arc. The Rebels hit just 20 of 60 (33%) from the floor and made just 8 of 32 (25%) from beyond the arc.
By contrast, the Huskies were a model of efficiency, shooting 56% from the field, including 9 of 20 from 3-point range. They had 24 assists on their 31 made baskets.
In addition to his 31 points, Gerads had six assists and Sam Hondl just missed a triple-double with 14 points, nine rebounds and 11 assists. Zeke Austin had 12 points and eight rebounds.
Ethan Borgerding had 10 points and nine boards but most importantly was a catalyst for the Huskies offense, Gerads said.
“He’s the anchor for us,” Gerads said. “He does a great job setting screens, he gets boards, he’s big in the paint and he comes up big when we need him to.”
Leach had a game-high 13 rebounds and Drew Sheeley played a strong second half and finished with 15 points, four rebounds and six assists. Grant Anderson scored eight points.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Huskies opened a 34-27 halftime lead with solid efforts on both ends of the floor. Albany hit 13 of 24 (54%) from the field, including 4 of 9 (44%) from 3-point range.
The Huskies also limited the Rebels to several one-shot possessions and held a 17-9 rebounding edge at the break. With Gerads on Leach most of the time, the Huskies limited the Rebels’ 30-point per game scorer to 3 of 12 shooting overall and 1 of 6 from 3-point range in the first half.
On the offensive end, Gerads jump started the Huskies, scoring 12 of their first 19 points. The teams were tied 6-6 but Gerads scored seven points in a 12-2 run over a six-minute span that put Albany up 18-8.
Thanks mainly to a couple Cayson Bergee 3-pointers, DGF cut the lead to 22-18 with 5:34 left in the first half, but the Huskies pulled out to another 10-point lead at 31-21 with 2:12 left on a 9-3 spurt.
Gerads opened the second half with a steal and dunk, Borgerding hit a short bank shot, Gerads lofted in a jumper and Tanner Reis hit a 3-pointer for a 43-28 lead with 14:16 to play. The Huskies didn’t let the lead dip below double digits the rest of the way.
The Trust Project
