Region 1 – Semifinals – Standouts

<p>We had an upset in the first game and a blowout in the second game. #2 Kindred and # 4 Oak Grove will play in the championship game on Thursday at the SHAC (7:00)<strong>  </strong></p> <p>Oak Grove made 11 three-pointers and did not back down from the bigger Enderlin team. Kindred overwhelmed Central Cass in every phase of the game. The Vikings are now the heavy favorites to win Region 1. Make sure you check out the championship game to see who will punch their ticket for the State Tournament in Minot.</p> <p>Tonight’s Results:</p> <p><em>#4 Oak Grove <strong>70</strong> #1 Enderlin <strong>59</strong></em></p> <p><em>#3 Central Cass <strong>37</strong> #2 Kindred <strong>53</strong></em></p> <p>Let us take a closer look at the standouts from tonight…</p> <p><strong>Connor Asche (2021) |5-9 G| Oak Grove</strong> – 20 points, 1-1 FT, 5 triples. He was clutch and lights out from 3-point range tonight. Connor started the game with a corner 3-pointer, next he hit a right-wing 3, and the last one he made in the first quarter came from the left-wing. Wow, talk about a hot start. He also made a three-pointer in the 2^nd quarter and 1 in the 3^rd quarter. He had a nice steal for a breakaway layup. His last points came from an “AND 1” finish in the 4^th quarter. Connor moves great without the ball and spaces to the exact spot he needs to be. He uses screens well and has great patience.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1046336" first="Mason" last="Martinson"] (2021) |5-11 G| Oak Grove </strong>– 19 points, 5-6 FT’s, 4 triples. He did most of his damage in the 4^th quarter with 11 points. Mason had a great backdoor cut in the first half for a layup. Enderlin did a nice job on him in the first half, but Mason eventually broke free late in the game. I love how confident of a shooter he is. He has great endurance; he seems to never get tired. Mason was clutch in the 4^th quarter at knocking down his free-throws and icing the game.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787658" first="Joe" last="Hurlburt"] (2022) |6-10 F| Enderlin</strong> – 25 points, 2-2 FT’s, 5 triples. He shot it well tonight from beyond the 3-point arc. In this game, it looked like the corner was his best spot to shoot from. Joe showed off his handles tonight. He had a killer crossover in the first half that shook the defender. In the second half, he crossed someone up and made them fall over. Joe was great again at rebounding. I liked his steal in the full-court press, this showed off his anticipatory skills.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812220" first="Gus" last="Hurlburt"] (2022) |6-8 F| Enderlin</strong> – 14 points, 1-2 FT’s,1 triple. Gus added 2 more dunks to his highlight reel tonight. He worked hard in the post tonight and he did a nice job backing down the defenders. His slam dunks came in the 3^rd and 4^th quarter. They showed off his jumping ability and strength.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1123710" first="Jaiden" last="Peraza"] (2022) |6-4 F| Kindred</strong> – 8 points. Early in the game, he showed off his jump-shot with a long 2-pointer just inside the top of the key. He had multiple offensive rebounds. Jaiden is an excellent cutter. Peraza had a monster 2-handed slam dunk that will go into the highlight film.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="812227" first="Paul" last="Olson"] (2022) (6-4 G| Kindred</strong> – 13 points, 1 triple. He showed off his 3-point shooting early in the game with a corner triple to get the party started. Paul had an excellent driving 1-handed floater from the middle of the lane in the first half. He had a wild tip in buzzer-beater right before halftime. I think he gets more athletic with every game that I watch him.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="731867" first="Gavin" last="Keller"] (2021) |6-9 F| Kindred</strong> – 12 points, 2-3 FT’s. Tonight, was the best I have seen him play. Gavin was oozing with confidence in this game. He had a magnificent 2-handed rebound slam dunk over a couple of defenders in the first half. I hope someone has a picture of that! Shortly after the dunk, he made another awesome play. Gavin was fouled on a shot, and he fought through it and finished the basket with a left-hand finger roll. It was an excellent “AND 1”, plus he made the free-throw.  He had another left-hand finish later in the game. Gavin also made multiple jump-shots. He hit a smooth turnaround jump-shot from mid-post. The last one he made was from the elbow on a catch-and-shoot play. Keller also played excellent on defense and he rebounded well. What a great night for Gavin!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>