Section 1A quarters: Big first half sends two-time defending state champs Hayfield past Kenyon-Wanamingo
ROCHESTER Zander Jacobson could sense a big offensive night was coming for the Hayfield High School boys basketball team.
"On the bus, everyone was just locked in," Jacobson said. "Just locked in and ready to go."
It showed on the court Tuesday night.
The two-time defending Section 1A winners and two-time Class A state champs, scored 25 of the game's first 33 points and knocked down 14 3-pointers to sprint past No. 6 Kenyon-Wanamingo 77-41 in a Section 1A quarterfinal at the Mayo Civic Center.
Kenyon-Wanamingo finishes the year 19-9, while No. 3 Hayfield improves to 23-6 and will now play No. 2 Spring Grove, which won a grinder 44-29 in its quarterfinal against Randolph, at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Mayo Civic Center.
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Alex VandenHouten
The Vikings will enter Saturday certainly with a lot of confidence.
They looked like the defending two-time state champs, quickly sprinting out to a 25-8 lead as they continually knocked down 3-pointer after 3-pointer.
A lot of those open 3's can be chalked up to Jacobson.
The Knights simply had no answer for the 6-foot-4 junior, being forced to send double teams at him. But Jacobson continually made the right play, playing decisive by passing out of double teams to open shooters beyond the arc.
"I just trust those guys so much," Jacobson said. "I know they have a pretty good chance of making them."
On this night, those shooters weren't missing, especially in the first half.
Prep
Photos: Hayfield, Kenyon-Wanamingo Section 1A boys basketball quarterfinal on March 7, 2023
Hayfield defeated Kenyon-Wanamingo 77-41 in a Section 1A boys basketball quarterfinal game on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester.
March 07, 2023 08:56 PM
By
Traci Westcott
Hayfield made nine 3-pointers in the first half alone, with Isaac Fjerstad accounting for four of those to match his career-high of 12 points to help stake the Vikings to a 44-19 lead.
Fjerstad wasn't done yet, the junior made three more from beyond the arc in the second half to set a career-high with 21 points.
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"We felt like if we played anything close to the way we can, we liked our chances," coach Chris Pack said. "Then having Isaac shoot that way. He's made two or three in a game over the year, but no better time to do it. Hopefully, he saved some for Saturday."
The Vikings combined lethal outside shooting with stingy defense, limiting a K-W offense well below it's season average of 65.4 points per game.
Hayfield did a much better job of defending the dribble-drive and limiting penetration something that was a major problem when K-W pulled off a 59-58 upset earlier in the season.
Yet, the Vikings had little issue this time around, cutting off the K-W attack and limiting kickout opportunities for 3-pointers. With that shut off, the Knights just simply couldn't get anything going.
"We take pride in our defense," Jacobson said. "We work a lot on it in practice and stuff. We know if we can hold teams under 50 points we will be successful."
On the offensive end, Jacobson and Isaac Matti each finished with 16 points, while Trent Jellum added 13 for the Vikings.
Next up now is No. 2 seeded Spring Grove, which enters with the top defense in Section 1A (37.8 points per game).
"That will be a much different test," Pack said. "We had to play that way last year with them and the key last year was we got ahead. We got a lead and didn't let them take the air out of the ball and slow them down. They are a better team this year than they were last year. They are playing very well on the defensive side of the ball. They are better shooters than what they showed today, so we won't count on them shooting like that on Saturday.
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"This final four, anyone can win it and go to the state tournament and win it. People kind of figured it would be these four teams entering the season and it kind of shaped up that way. It should be a couple of great games on Saturday."
Hayfield 77, Kenyon-Wanamingo 41
KENYON-WANAMINGO 41
Lorenzo Stucci 2, Cal Luebke 3, Zach Mason 13, Colton Steberg 7, Logan Carroll 2, Joe Mills 4.
HAYFIELD 77
William Gillette 3, Isaac Fjerstad 21, Zander Jacobson 16, Isaac Matti 16, Trent Jellum 13, Braeden Hahn 2, Ethan Pack 6.
HALFTIME:
Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 4:21 am