By John Rittenhouse
Luverne was ousted from the Section 3AA Boys’ Basketball Tournament when it lost a 72-33 game to Worthington during a quarterfinal-round game played in Jackson Saturday.
The second-seeded Trojans limited the Cardinals to one field goal in the first half while opening a 39-5 halftime advantage.
Things didn’t get any better for the seventh-seeded Cardinals in the second half as they were outscored 33-28 in what ended as a 39-point loss.
The win sends Worthington to tonight’s semifinals at Southwest State University in Marshall, where it plays Redwood Valley, a 67-48 winner over Windom Saturday in Jackson. Luverne ends its 4-18 season.
Luverne simply couldn’t get anything going during Saturday’s loss to Worthington.
The Cards led 2-0 when Jake Studer drained a pair of free throws in the first minute of the game, but Worthington ended the first quarter with a 15-0 run before scoring the first 21 points of the second period to open a 36-2 lead.
Luverne’s scoring drought ended when Scott Boelman hit a free throw with 51 seconds left in the second quarter. Studer then registered Luverne’s first field goal of the game with one second left in the period, making it a 39-5 game at the intermission.
Worthington scored the first seven points of the third quarter to extend the difference to 41 points (46-5) before settling for a 38-point (60-22) advantage at period’s end. A 12-11 scoring edge for WHS in the fourth quarter made it a 39-point difference in the end.
Studer, Brent DeGroot and Jared Pick scored four points each to lead LHS. Aaron Schmidt plucked six rebounds off the glass.
Box score
Studer 1 0 2-2 4, Jo.Pick 0 0 1-2 1, Tofteland 0 1 0-0 3, Jr.Pick 2 0 0-0 4, Deragisch 1 0 0-2 2, Goembel 1 0 0-0 2, Schmidt 1 0 0-0 2, Stegemann 0 1 0-0 3, Hulstein 1 0 0-0 2, Boelman 0 0 1-2 1, DeWispelaere 0 0 0-0 0, DeGroot 1 0 2-2 4, Herman 1 0 0-0 2, Heronimus 0 1 0-0 3, Lange 0 0 0-0 0.
Team statistics
Luverne: 12 of 39 field goals (31 percent), six of 10 free throws (60 percent), 20 rebounds, 21 turnovers.
Worthington: 26 of 58 field goals (45 percent), 13 of 19 free throws (68 percent), 30 rebounds, 10 turnovers.
