Stephen-Argyle holds on to beat Fertile-Beltrami to advance to the Section 8A Championship

The Stephen-Argyle Storm gave up the lead with five minutes left in the game only to make some big plays in the final minutes to beat the Fertile-Beltrami Falcons 53-49 in the Section 8A Boys Basketball semi-final game at Ralph Englestad Arena at Thief River Falls.

FIRST HALF –
Stephen-Argyle got off to a good start by scoring the first six points of the game with baskets from Caden Pagnac, Jake Carlson, and Rayden Woinarowicz for a 6-0 lead. Fertile-Beltrami’s first points came a little over two minutes into the game when Bryer Strem scored, followed by a bucket from Steven Sather to spark a 10-4 run with a Strem steal and two free throws, and back-to-back baskets from Caleb Sather to tie the game at 10-10 six minutes into the half. The teams exchanged baskets for a tie at 12 before Stephen-Argyle’s Dylan Widner buried a three-pointer and Raydon Woinarowicz added a basket for a 17-12 lead. With 9:51 left in the half, Stephen-Argyle was called for a technical foul for having six players on the court after a timeout. Fertile-Beltrami’s Strem made one free throw and on the same possession the Falcons Gullickson made a basket to bring the Falcon’s within a 17-15 deficit halfway through the half. Stephen-Argyle responded with a 10-2 run with Anders Thompson starting the run with a basket, Pagnac added a basket and after a made Storm free throw, Shay Setterholm made a three-pointer and followed with a reverse layup for a 27-15 lead with 4:20 left in the half. Fertile-Beltrami picked up its defense and didn’t allow a Storm point in the final four minutes and they had a Strem basket followed by a Caleb Sather three-pointer and Stephen-Argyle took a 27-20 lead into halftime.

SECOND HALF –
Fertile-Beltrami started the second half by scoring the first four points with a Gage Henrickson free throw and a Drew Gullickson three-pointer to get within a 27-24 deficit. Stephen-Argyle responded with a Pagnac free throw and a Thompson three-pointer for a 31-24 lead two minutes into the half. With the Storm leading 32-26, the Falcons’ Gullickson made a three-pointer, but Stephen-Argyle’s Dylan Widner and Shay Setterholm made three-pointers for a 38-29 lead with 9:25 left in the half. Fertile-Beltrami’s Gullickson answered with a 15-2 run. The run started with Gullickson scoring five points, and after a Storm basket, Gullickson buried another three-pointer. The Storm turned the ball over, and Henrickson scored in the paint. After another Storm turnover, Henrickson grabbed a Falcon miss and scored again, and the run was capped with a Gullickson basket for a 44-40 lead with 4:23 remaining. The lead was the first for Fertile-Beltrami in the game. The teams traded threes, with the Storm getting threes from Dylan Widner and Setterholm to take a 46-44 lead. Fertile-Beltrami’s Caleb Sather made a three-pointer to give his team a 47-46 lead with 2:43 remaining, and the final minutes were full of excitement.
Stephen-Argyle’s Pagnac had a strong basket in the paint to give his team a 48-47 lead with 2:21 remaining. It was almost two minutes before the next points were scored when Woinarowicz had a strong take in the paint and made the basket for a 50-47 lead with 28.1 seconds remaining. Fertile-Beltrami’s Strem was fouled on a three-point shot with 13.2 seconds to go and made two of the three to get within a 50-49 deficit. Fertile-Beltrami fouled the Storm with 12.2 seconds to go and Woinarowicz made one of two for a 51-49 lead, but the Storm grabbed the rebound on a tremendous hustle play by Widner. The Storm were fouled again and missed the front end of the bonus, but the Storm got the ball back after the rebound went out of bounds and was last touched by the Falcons. Stephen-Argyle’s third chance was fruitful as Shay Setterholm was fouled and made both free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining for a 53-49 lead and that is how the game would end with the Stephen-Argyle Storm winning and advancing to the Section 8A championship.

Stephen-Argyle improves to 24-6 on the year and will take on the Red Lake County Rebels in the Section 8A Championship on Friday, March 13 at 7:00 p.m. at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls. KROX Radio and KROX TV will have the game with a pre-game show at 6:00 p.m.