Sleepy Eye St. Mary would prove to be a tougher opponent Saturday morning. This team was in the state semifinals a year ago and is returning three of its top players from a season ago. A preseason top 10 ranked team in state was going to be a great test to see where the Rebels stand.
MCC kick the game off with the first points as Tanner Graphenteen would find Chant Mitchell on the attack and kick for three on the left wing. Mitchell would go 2-2 from behind the arc in the game. St. Mary would answer back with back to back baskets followed by back to back baskets by MCC. This is how the first half went up until the final 3 minutes. Deadlocked at 21-21, St. Mary would finish the half on a 14-5 run. St. Mary’s left handed guard caused the Rebels all sorts of trouble in the first half as Steffensmeier scored 19 of his game high 25 in the half. A little late to adjust the Rebels would allow Steffensmeier to attack left and get to his spots, attacking the paint and finishing consistently. He also hit three, three-point shots in the half as St. Mary did a nice job with the dribble drive offense, attacking and kicking to open shooters.
MCC was led by Chant Mitchell in the first half with 9 points, Dierks had 6, both Graphenteen and Tentinger had 4, and Derek Kluis had 3.
The second half was entertaining and full of runs. St. Mary would start the half with the ball and would get three cracks at three point shots, as the Rebels failed to grab the rebound and third times a charm as they would connect from downtown. But this Rebels squad has a lot of fight in them. Christian Tentinger would convert on a strong drive and earn the andone opportunity the hard way. Converting on the free throw and evening out the second half points. The Rebels would turn the ball over on their next couple of possessions and St. Mary was able to go on the half’s first run, pushing their lead up to 15 points with a little under 15 minutes to go in the half. But a strong post up by Chant Mitchell on the right block would cut it down to 13 on the next possession. Mitchell would establish great position and Graphenteen would reward the senior with an entry pass for the two. The two teams traded misses on the next two possessions then the Rebels would turn their defense into offense as Abe Paulzine would come up with a steal and assist, passing it ahead to Graphenteen who would finish smooth with a contested lay-up on the other end.
St. Mary would run some solid offense on the next two possessions earning trips to the free throw line where they rarely missed, unfortunately it was not the case for MCC on this night. SESM went 13-16 and MCC ended the night 5-14. Even with the disparity the Rebels were always in the game. Mitchell would again get great low post position and finish ending the SESM mini run and keeping the game within reach. The score sat at 47-35 with just under 13 minutes remaining.
The Rebels continued to play hard and put the full court press on as both teams traded tired leg misses and turnovers. SESM would score first breaking the 12-point lead at the 12-minute mark but Tanner Graphenteen would finish a tough and-one lay-up, driving to his right, hanging in the air, and flipping the ball under the defenders arm for the sweet two. He converted the free throw and now the Rebels had gained some momentum down only 11 with close to 10 minutes remaining.
Graphenteen again would explode to the basket after St. Mary would convert 1 of 2 from the free throw line on the other end and finish a strong lay-up with soft touch off the glass. Down 10 the Rebels had an opportunity to really put the pressure on St. Mary. The Rebels defense would play solid, stifling St. Mary on the next 4 possessions, the only problem was MCC wasn’t able to score either. St. Mary would again push the lead up to 12 on the next possession. But MCC would quit and would create a turnover, once again turning defense into offense as Aidan Dierks would find Derek Kluis on the 2 on 1 fast break.
Once again the defense would step up and get 4 stops in a row, this time Graphenteen would strike again with another andone, after connecting on the free throw the Rebels were down 7 with under 7 minutes to go. St. Mary called timeout after the free throw. After the stoppage, MCC would get a stop and a high percentage lay-up attempt, unfortunately were unable to convert and the lead stayed at 7. The teams would trade buckets on the next two possessions but this would be as close as the game would get, at the 4 minute mark SESM would push the lead back to 9 points and would execute their offense well to wind the clock down, find easy buckets against the pressure defense and push the lead back up to double digits where it stayed. SESM 66 – MCC 51.
Tanner Graphenteen led MCC scorers with 14, Chant Mitchell had 13, Christian Tentinger had 10, Aidan Dierks 7, and Derek Kluis 5.
Mitchell and Dierks led the team in rebounding with 3 apiece. Graphenteen, Mitchell, and Dierks each had 3 steals to lead the Rebels. Dierks had 5 assists to lead the way and Graphenteen ended with 2.
