MI-B escapes quarterfinals with win over FDL, 62-61

Things could not have been any tighter Saturday with neither team finding a lead greater than seven points all day. In the end, the Rangers managed to take the rubber match, defending a pair of last-effort shots from FDL as time expired, 62-61.

The win sends Mountain Iron-Buhl into Wednesday’s Section 7A semifinals where they’ll take on top-seeded Deer River.

With the Rangers going up by four on a Mason Clines free throw late in the game, MI-B head coach Jeff Buffetta was happy to let the Ogichidaag foul his team in the closing minute so they could try and finish things at the free throw line up 60-56.

Instead, FDL picked up a crucial turnover and converted on the other end with Anthony Reynolds scoring to cut the deficit to two. MI-B took a timeout with 45 seconds to play but out of the break, fouled Reynolds who went to the line to try and tie things up. Reynolds sank one free throw, keeping his team within striking distance.

Down on the other end of the court, FDL fouled Asher Zubich, who went to the line for one-and-one. Zubich’s free throw couldn’t connect and the Ogichidaag immediately converted on the other end to take the lead with a Reynolds layup.

With neither team particularly effective from the charity stripe all game, FDL fouled Zubich again with under 20 seconds to play. This time, Zubich sank both, putting the Rangers back on top before Ogichidaag head coach Cameron Thompson took a timeout to draw something up for his squad.

Fond du Lac inbounded the ball and burned about 13 seconds off of the clock, unable to come up with an open shot they felt confident in. Thompson took one last timeout with 4.4 seconds to play, drawing up an inbounds play for his squad from under the hoop.

The MI-B defense didn’t falter at the end. The Ogichidaag got the ball in and put up two contested short-range shots. Both fell short for FDL and the Rangers escaped 62-61. Keeping their playoff hopes alive, MI-B head coach Jeff Buffetta had praise for his squad as well as FDL after the game.

“Fond du Lac is a very talented basketball team. Those guys can shoot, handle the ball and they have a lot of length to them. It just turns things into a battle. Things weren’t perfect today for us. We made some mistakes that you’d like to get back but we kept battling right till the end and gave ourselves a chance. That’s an exciting basketball game and we were able to find a way to win it.”

There were fireworks between the two teams from the opening tip. Zubich scored his squad’s first five points but FDL star Jordell Brown answered for his team early, putting them up 6-5 with a bucket in the paint. Clines hit a free throw after being fouled and then on the other end, picked up a steal and layed it in for two, 8-6 MI-B.

The Rangers looked solid early on with Zubich hitting a pull-up jumper. Brown responded with a jumper of his own before Zubich drove to the hoop the next trip down and converted, 12-8.

Brown hit one of two free throws after being fouled out of the break, but MI-B rattled off four in a row with Nik Jesch hitting a runner before Josh Holmes knocked down a shot from the elbow.

The back and forth affair continued throughout the first half but one concern arose for the Rangers. Fond du Lac’s height and presence in the paint proved to be a defensive challenge. Unable to get clean stops, the Rangers committed a few too many fouls that forced Clines and Jesch to the bench with three each. Holmes and Rylen Niska also had two fouls by the end of the first half, but MI-B got a lucky break with FDL only going 7-13 from the line in the first 18 minutes.

Down 30-28 late, Zubich tied things up for his squad, going the full length of the court and laying one in to beat the buzzer, knotting the two teams at 30.

Seeing his team get into foul trouble early on, Buffetta said there was no easy answer for FDL’s size on both sides of the ball.

“Their length gives you trouble. They cover more ground than you’d think they would. They’re in your shot lanes a lot more than other teams are. Our guys had to keep with it but we had some fouls that I think we shouldn’t have made at times. They made things difficult for us.”

Clines got the Rangers started in the second half with an easy bucket in the paint but the second half played out much like the first with both sides exchanging blows. FDL’s Dannin Savage was one of the threats in the paint, using his size to score over the Rangers with ease. Zubich would answer, but the Ogichidaag went up by three with a bucket from Reynolds followed by a rebound and putback score from Mukwa Bellanger.

MiCaden Clines knocked down a three to tie things up but Jordan Brown gave FDL the lead with a three of his own.

Bellanger and Savage continued to frustrate the Rangers over the next few minutes, giving FDL a 48-43 lead with under 11 minutes to play.

Jesch knocked down a three for MI-B after a timeout from Buffetta, but Bellanger secured one of two at the free throw line before Jordell Brown had a nice move to the rim for two, 51-46.

Trailing by their largest margin of the game, MI-B responded quickly with Zubich knocking down a three and Jesch scoring on the next possession on the drive all before Zubich hit a high-percentage shot of his own to put his squad up 53-51.

“Somebody’s gotta make a play and we were able to get a couple good shots in that stretch,” Buffetta said. “It gave us the momentum back. Usually it comes down to stops and they’re a hard team to stop. I think our guys played some pretty solid defense and we were able to avoid the foul trouble in the second half.”

Zubich and Savage exchanged blows over the next few minutes to knot things at 56 but Zubich gave his team the 59-56 lead with a clutch three that forced a timeout from FDL with 2:44 to play. MI-B extended the lead by one with a Mason Clines free throw before the final sequence played out.

Ultimately coming up with the 62-61 win, Buffetta said after the game that there were good and bad takeaways from the tight contest.

“You don’t get enough situations like these during the year. It’s a good experience for us. The guys got a taste of what playoff basketball is all about. You can’t get too high or too low. I think the emotions get you once in a while and we saw that when we gave up that four-point lead at the end. That was more emotions than anything. We had some breakdowns there but we got it back. We made a nice defensive play at the end.”

Zubich led all scorers with 33 points. Jordell Brown had 19 for FDL. Savage finished with 15.

The win puts MI-B in Wednesday’s 7A semifinal game with Deer River. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at UMD. Already owning an 88-60 win over the Warriors from late January, Buffetta says there’s still work to be done and he expects another tough contest in the rematch.

“We have to control their firepower. They’ve got so many shooters. We know they can make shots so we have to do everything we can to stop them and hopefully force them into taking contested ones.”

FDL 30 31—61

MIB 30 32—62

Fond du Lac Ojibwe: Jordell Brown 19, Anthony Reynolds 9, Mukwa Bellanger 9, Jordan Brown 3, Chazz Martineau 6, Dannin Savage 15; Three pointers: Jorde. Brown 2, Jorda. Brown 1; Free throws: 10-20; Total fouls: 18; Fouled out: Jorde. Brown.

Mountain Iron-Buhl: TJ DuChamp 2, Asher Zubich 33, Mason Clines 7, Josh Holmes 8, Nik Jesch 9, MiCaden Clines 3; Three pointers: Zubich 4, Jesch 1, Mi. Clines 1; Free throws: 8-16; Total fouls: 17; Fouled out: none.