The Stephen-Argyle Storm had two big-time dunks to spark a strong second half to pull away for a 75-56 victory over the Clearbrook-Gonvick Bears in the Section 8A Boys Basketball quarterfinals at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF –
The first half was a good battle as Clearbrook-Gonvick scored the first basket of the game when Ryan Gerlofs made a basket in the first minute. Stephen-Argyle’s Anders Thompson had a great first-round playoff game, scoring 22 points, and he continued his outstanding play in the quarterfinal game. Thompson made a three-pointer 1:11 into the game to give the Storm a 3-2 lead. Caden Pagnac followed with a basket for a 5-2 lead. After a Bear basket, the Storm’s Raydon Woinarowicz scored in the paint, and Shay Setterholm followed with a three-pointer for a 10-4 lead four minutes into the game. Clearbrook-Gonvick answered with a 7-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. Stephen-Argyle countered with a Thompson three-pointer before the Bears had a three-point play to regain a 14-13 lead. The fifth lead change of the game came on a Dylan Widner basket that sparked a 7-0 run with five more points by Thompson for a 20-14 lead with seven minutes left in the half. Clearbrook-Gonvick wouldn’t go away, as they outscored the Storm 8-4 to get within a 24-22 deficit with 2:42 remaining in the half. The only points scored the rest of the half came on a Thompson three-pointer with 47 seconds left in the half and the Storm took a 27-22 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Stephen-Argyle’s Pagnac started the second half with a basket before the Bears’ Try Goudge made a three-pointer to get within a 29-25 deficit 51 seconds into the half. Stephen-Argyle responded with a 6-0 run with two Dylan Widner free throws, a Woinarowicz basket, and after a Bear timeout, Thompson made a shot for a 35-25 lead. The Bears stopped the run with a free throw before Thompson made his fourth three-pointer of the game for a 38-26 lead. Clearbrook-Gonvick responded with a 7-0 run to get within a 38-33 deficit, forcing a Storm timeout. Whatever Storm Coach Reece Setterholm told his team during the timeout seemed to work, especially for Caden Pagnac, who drove the lane and posterized a Bear defender with a big-time dunk. Jake Carlson followed with a basket for a 42-33 lead. The Bears answered with five points before the teams exchanged baskets, and the Storm led 44-40 with 10 minutes remaining. The Storm broke the game open with an 8-0 run led by four points from Owen Widner for a 52-40 lead. The Bears made two free throws before the Storm’s Thompson had a three-point play, and that started the teams exchanging baskets. Stephen-Argyle led 62-47 when they lobbed an alley-oop to the 6’10 Carlson, who hammered a dunk down for a 64-47 lead. Clearbrook-Gonvick wouldn’t go down without a fight, but the Storm held on the rest of the game to win.
Stephen-Argyle improves to 23-6 on the year and will take on Fertile-Beltrami in the Section 8A semi-finals on Wednesday, March 11 at Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls. Clearbrook-Gonvick ends the season with an 8-19 record.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Clearbrook-Gonvick | 22 | 34 | 56 |
| Stephen-Argyle | 27 | 48 | 75 |
| For Stephen-Argyle | Points |
| Anders Thompson | 26 |
| Caden Pagnac | 11 |
| Dylan Widner | 10 |
| Owen Widner | 8 |
| Raydon Woinarowicz | 6 |
| Jake Carlson | 6 |
| Shay Setterholm | 5 |
| Ashton Setterholm | 3 |
| For Clearbrook-Gonvick | Points |
| Trey Goudge | 17 |
| Grant Engen | 15 |
| Ryan Gerlofs | 9 |
| Drayton Cobenais-Neadeau | 7 |
| Carver Kroulik | 6 |
| Avery Ostena | 1 |
| Gavin Solberg | 1 |
