LSH edges TCU in battle for 2nd place

By: 
Jay Schneider

Jarrod Schoenecker photo

Tri-City United senior Luke Holicky drops one in the basket against Le Sueur-Henderson sophomore Nolan Weber (right) at the Friday evening home game, making the score 8-16 in favor of the (Jolly Green) Giants in the first period. Titans put up a good fight but lose the game 65-69.

In a game between two teams fighting for second place in the Minnesota River Conference, Le Sueur-Henderson (LSH) got off to a fast start and held on for a 69-65 win over Tri-City United Friday, Jan. 26.

“We came out of the gate really cold from the field as shots were just not falling to our standard, and LSH got out to a quick lead as a consequence,” head coach John Rumpza said.  “We did some good things in this game, but we fell short in some important categories which made the deficit too difficult to overcome as the game wore on.”

The Titans were outscored 35-24 in the first half. The Giants grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, leading to 13 second half points.

The Titans fought hard until the end, and made some big shots within the last couple minutes of the game, one of these being a 4-point play by Matthew Squires in the last minute, and a 3-pointer by Abdoulaye Tandia with about 10.5 seconds left in the game to pull within two of the Giants.

LSH was able to seal the game with two free throws to put the Giants up by four to seal the game. 

Luke Holicky led the Titans in scoring with 26, going 8-19 from the floor and 8-9 from the FT line, also adding 10 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and two blocks. Reggie Vosejpka added 13 points and 7 boards. Matthew Squires scored nine, making two three-pointers and going 3-3 from the FT line. Abdoulaye Tandia scored seven points with 12 rebounds and four assists. Teddy Schatz and Connor Flintrop each chipped in 5 points for the Titans. 

The loss for the Titans ended a five game winning streak which included a 75-73 win over Mayer Lutheran Tuesday, Jan. 23.

Mayer Lutheran tied the game up with about 25 seconds left in the game. The Titans brought the ball up the floor. Luke Holicky drove to the basket and took a 10-foot floater to take the lead, which rimmed off. However, Reggie Vosejpka was there to grab the offensive rebound and get the putback. The Crusaders had one final look from just inside halfcourt, which went off the back rim, which led to a Titans victory.

Holicky again led the Titans with 27 points on 7-14 shooting, going 11-14 from the free throw line, also added four rebounds and three steals. Vosejpka had 14 points on 6-11 shooting, added six rebounds and two steals. Connor Flintrop scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Matthew Squires scored eight while Teddy Schatz and Abdoulaye Tandia each scored six points a piece and both had four rebounds. 

TCU, 5-3 in the conference and 8-8 overall, play at Lester Prairie Thursday, Feb. 1. The Titans are tied with Lester Prairie for third place in the conference.

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