The Red Lake County Rebels made 13 three-pointers in the first half and added four more in the second half, including nine from Nick Suchy as they cruised to an 87-39 victory over the Win-E-Mac Patriots in a Section 8A Boys Basketball quarterfinal game played at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF –
The game had one tie and eight lead changes in the first five minutes of the game. The eighth lead change came on a Connor Duden three-pointer for a 14-12 lead before Ben Gullingsrud followed with a three-pointer over a minute later. Duden added another basket to cap an 8-0 run for a 19-12 lead with 10:34 left in the half. Win-E-Mac stopped the run with a basket before Red Lake County’s Ethan Johnson made two free throws and Duden made an NBA three-pointer for a 24-14 lead. Red Lake County led 26-16 when Win-E-Mac went on an 8-4 run after a pair of Joe Courneya three-pointers, and the Rebel lead was cut down to 30-24 with five minutes left in the half. It was at this point of the game that Red Lake County’s Nick Suchy put on a shooting clinic. Suchy made three straight three-pointers in 55 seconds for a 39-24 lead. After a Patriot basket, Suchy buried another three-pointer, which was followed by a long three-pointer by Duden for a 45-26 lead. After a Win-E-Mac basket, Thor Thompson made two free throws, followed by a Ben Gullingsrud three-pointer. Win-E-Mac made a basket, and Red Lake County’s Suchy let a shot fly from about 35 feet out and banked it in at the buzzer to give the Rebels a 53-30 lead going into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Red County started the second half on a 6-0 run with baskets from Will Gieseke, a Connor Duden dunk, and a Ben Gullingsrud basket for a 59-30 lead three minutes into the half. The teams exchanged baskets for the next five minutes, and the Rebels led 70-39. Red Lake County’s Duden made a basket, and Suchy followed with another three-pointer, a free throw, and another three-pointer (his ninth three-pointer of the game), and the crowd went wild, celebrating a new school record of nine three-pointers in a game, and the Rebels led 79-39 with 5:41 remaining. With running time in play for the final minutes of the game, it flew by, and both teams went deep into the bench, and Red Lake County won the game 87-39.
Red Lake County improves to 26-3 on the year and will play the Northern Freeze in the Section 8A semi-finals on Wednesday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m. at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls. Win-E-Mac’s season comes to an end with a record of 12-16.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Win-E-Mac | 30 | 9 | 39 |
| Red Lake County | 53 | 34 | 87 |
| For Red Lake County | Points |
| Nick Suchy | 28 |
| Connor Duden | 24 |
| Ben Gullingsrud | 8 |
| Thor Thompson | 6 |
| Will Gieseke | 6 |
| Benji Bramer | 4 |
| Dylan Lundeen | 3 |
| Atley Vettleson | 3 |
| Logan Vettleson | 2 |
| Ethan Johnson | 2 |
| Mason Williams | 1 |
| For Win-E-Mac | Points |
| Joe Courneya | 19 |
| Kolten Schow | 7 |
| Hayden Johnson | 6 |
| Nickolas Schow | 4 |
| Charley Carlson | 2 |
| Jayden Haugen | 2 |
