The Cass Lake-Bena Panthers made nine three-pointers, eight in the first half, and held off the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons in the Section 8A semi-final game played at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF –
It was a defensive battle early as neither team scored until Fertile-Beltrami’s Derek Sorenson made a three-pointer almost two minutes into the game for a 3-0 lead. Nearly one minute later, Cass Lake-Bena answered with a three-pointer to tie the game at 3-3. The Falcons regained the lead with a Caiden Swenby free throw. The Falcons turned the ball over on the next two possessions, and Cass Lake-Bena scored the next five points for an 8-4 lead, forcing a Fertile-Beltrami time out with 12:33 left in the half.
The Falcon’s Swenby stopped the run with a swooping cut to the basket for a layup to get his team within an 8-6 deficit. Cass Lake-Bena responded with an 8-1 run behind two three-pointers and a basket for a 16-7 lead with 9:46 left in the half. Fertile-Beltrami stopped the run with a basket in the paint from Tysen Stuhaug, followed by a tremendous full-court give and go from Everett Balstad to Senby for a layup to get within a 16-11 deficit halfway through the half. Cass Lake-Bena started a 13-3 run behind three three-pointers, two of them from Dominic Staples-Fairbanks, who also added a long two-pointer in the run, and the Panthers led 29-14 with five minutes to go in the half. Fertile-Beltrami stopped the run with two free throws from Rylin Petry, and Sorenson followed with two more points to bring the Falcons within a 29-18 deficit with less than four minutes to play in the first half. The teams would play pretty even the rest of the way, with Cass Lake-Bena taking a 44-29 lead into the final seconds when the Falcon’s Balstad made a three-pointer at the buzzer to bring Fertile-Beltrami within a 44-29 deficit at halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Cass Lake-Bena started the second half with two free throws after a scoreless first three minutes of the half for a 46-29 lead. Fertile-Beltrami picked up their defensive and offensive game t and went on a 12-3 run over four minutes to get within a 49-41 deficit with 10:12 left in the game. The run started with a Balstad three-pointer, followed by a Rylin Petry basket. Cass Lake-Bena made two free throws before the Falcons recorded their first steal of the game, and Swenby turned it into two points. Cass Lake-Bena made another free throw, and the Falcon’s Petry made a free throw, followed by four straight points from Sorenson to get within a 49-41 deficit with over 10 minutes left in the game.
The Falcons turned the ball over or missed a shot on the ensuing three possessions, and Cass Lake-Bena took advantage with a 6-0 run to build a 55-41 lead. Cass Lake-Bena controlled the game the rest of the way, and Fertile-Beltrami Coach Neil Steffes put all five seniors in the game with a few minutes left and later took them out to a standing ovation from the Falcon fans, and Cass Lake-Bena held on for a 75-59 victory.
Fertile-Beltrami ends the season with a 25-5 record and will say goodbye to seniors Rylin Petry, Everett Balstad, Kadyn Olson, Justin Solie, Austin Bjerk, and Tysen Stuhaug.
Cass Lake-Bena advances to the Section 8A championship game with a 26-3 record and will take on the Sacred Heart Eagles on Friday, March 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
For the full postgame interview with Fertile-Beltrami Head Coach Neil Steffes, CLICK HERE
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Fertile-Beltrami | 29 | 30 | 59 |
| Cass Lake-Bena | 44 | 31 | 75 |
| Fertile-Beltrami | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Caiden Swenby | 18 | 10 | 2 assists |
| Derek Sorenson | 17 | 3 | |
| Everett Balstad | 10 | 5 | 2 assists |
| Rylin Petry | 9 | 2 assists | |
| Brayden Werpy | 3 | ||
| Tysen Stuhaug | 2 | 3 |
| For Cass Lake-Bena | Points |
| Dominic Staples-Fairbanks | 19 |
| Leroy Staples-Fairbanks | 18 |
| Kaydin Lee | 16 |
| Kaiden Urrutia | 15 |
| Darrin Brown | 5 |
| Cole Coss | 2 |
