Boys basketball roundup: Alexandria wins back-to-back CLC titles as area playoffs are now set – Alexandria Echo Press

FERGUS FALLS — The section playoff brackets are set for Alexandria area boys basketball teams after this past weekend, but first, the Cardinals had one last order of business to take care of in the Central Lakes Conference.

After

beating Brainerd 70-59

on Friday night, Alexandria turned around on Saturday and won at Fergus Falls in a 64-53 final. That win secured a share of the CLC title for the Cardinals as this group became the first in program history to win back-to-back CLC championships.

“It means a lot to win back-to-back CLC championships,” Alexandria head coach Forrest Witt said. “It has been fun to see our program develop and provide opportunities for kids to compete for conference and section championships. Looking back, we’ve had so many great kids that have believed in our system of playing hard and playing together.”

Witt said it is those athletes who came before this team who helped lay the groundwork for what Alexandria has been able to accomplish by going 43-7 overall the last two seasons.

“They played the right way,” Witt said. “We hope our basketball program can provide positive opportunities for a range of kids, some wanting to simply make a team and contribute in a role, to those that want to chase dreams of playing at the college level. I am excited to see where this goes and how we can continue to build and move forward.”

This season has been all about the depth of the Cardinals’ roster, and that shined through again on Saturday.

Mark Ripley / Select Digital Memories

Four players finished in double figures as Grayson Grove had 14 points and 8 rebounds. Myles Sansted and Erik Hedstrom each had 13 points, while Chase Thompson added 10 and Peter Sansted finished with 9.

Mark Ripley / Select Digital Memories

Alexandria’s 21-5 regular season earned the Cardinals the No. 1 seed in the Section 8-3A playoffs that start on Tuesday night. Alexandria hosts eighth-seeded Little Falls (8-18) at 8:01 p.m. in that opening-round game.

The winner of that moves on to the semifinals on March 11 at 7 p.m. at the high seed. If the Cardinals win, they will host the winner of fourth-seeded Detroit Lakes (11-14) and fifth-seeded Rocori (10-16).

The Section 8-3A title game is set for March 17 at a neutral site yet to be determined. St. Cloud Tech (16-9) is the second seed in the field. Sauk Rapids-Rice (14-12) is third, Willmar (7-19) sixth and St. Cloud Apollo (7-19) is seeded seventh.

“Everyone is 0-0 right now,” Witt said. “It’s the third phase of the season. Aside from the Tech game (a 90-62 loss on Feb. 28), I’ve loved our competitive spirit in the last portion of the season. Our ball movement has been really good and we’ve developed into a solid defensive team. We need to continue to play with that same mindset.”

ALEXANDRIA 64, FERGUS FALLS 53

ALEXANDRIA – Zach Gundberg – 3 points, 2 rebounds; Peter Sansted – 9 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals; Myles Sansted – 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals; Erik Hedstrom – 13 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal; Jaxon Schoenrock – 1 rebound, 2 assists; Chase Thompson – 10 points, 1 rebound; Wyatt Odland – 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist; Carter Steffensmeier – 5 rebounds, 3 assists; Grayson Grove – 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

The Osakis boys basketball team will head into the Section 6AA Tournament as the No. 4 seed.

The Silverstreaks (23-3) play 13th-seeded Royalton (12-13) in the opening round on March 10 at 7 p.m. The winner of that game will face the winner of Sauk Centre (19-7), seeded fifth, and 12th-seeded Kimball (14-12) on March 12 at 2:30 p.m. at St. John’s University.

The Section 6AA semifinals are scheduled for March 15 at St. John’s, and the finals are set for March 18 at St. Cloud State University, according to the Minnesota State High School League website.

Annandale (24-2) is the No. 1 seed in the 16-team field. Mora (23-3) is seeded second, and Albany (21-5) earned the third seed. A total of 12 teams enter the 6AA playoffs with a record of .500 or better.

The Ashby boys basketball team will take the highest seed into the Section 6A playoffs among Alexandria area teams.

The Arrows (22-3) earned the No. 2 seed in the South half of the bracket after getting two big wins to end the regular season. Ashby beat Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunbug (16-9) 56-55 on March 3 and Henning (21-5) in a 61-42 game on March 4.

The Arrows will host the winner of seventh-seeded Parkers Prairie (12-14) and 10th-seeded Ortonville (1-24) on March 10 at 7 p.m. Parkers Prairie plays Ortonville on March 7 at 7 p.m.

Brandon-Evansville (14-12) got the sixth seed in the South subsection. The Chargers travel to Hancock (21-5) on March 10 to face the third-seeded Owls.

The subsection semifinals are scheduled for March 12 at Minnewaska Area High School. If they advance from their March 10 games, Ashby and Brandon-Evansville would play in the 2:45 p.m. time slot at Minnewaska on Saturday.

The subsection championship game is scheduled for March 15 at Minnewaska. The Section 6A title game would then be played on March 18 at Fergus Falls, according to the Minnesota State High School League website.

Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (22-4) is the No. 1 seed in the South half of the field. New York Mills (25-1) is the top seed in the North half.