ALEXANDRIA, Minn.-Sauk Rapids-Rice ended the Fergus Falls Otters' reign in Minnesota Class 3A, Section 8 boys basketball.
Storm junior Cade Milton-Baumgardner had a big second-half scoring surge to help the Storm rally for a 64-59 victory against the Otters in the section title game.
Fergus Falls (22-7) was the two-time defending section champion. The Otters had their 10-game winning streak snapped. Sauk Rapids-Rice (21-8) outscored Fergus Falls 37-31 in the second half.
Senior forward Harrison Christensen paced the Otters with 17 points. Junior guard Matthew Johnson added 16 points, while senior guard Nathan Rund chipped in 12.
Sauk Rapids-Rice stormed into the lead for good with a 13-2 run in the second half. Milton-Baumgardner scored 11 points during that momentum-changing stretch. He capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave Sauk Rapids-Rice a 54-46 lead with 6 minutes, 13 seconds remaining.
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Fergus Falls countered with the next seven points and sliced the Storm lead to 54-53 after senior guard Marshall King sank a free throw with 2:20 to play. That was as close as Fergus Falls would get in the closing minutes, however, as the Otters were unable to retake the lead.
There were nine lead changes earlier in the second half.
Fergus Falls took a 28-27 lead into halftime. Christensen paced the Otters in the first half with 10 points and five rebounds. Rund added eight points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals before halftime. Rund is a Minnesota State Moorhead men's basketball commit.
Fergus Falls and Sauk Rapids-Rice split two previous meetings during the regular season. The Storm took the third matchup to earn the section championship.
