- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,144,507
- Reaction score
- 59
Mar. 26—MINNEAPOLIS — In the postgame press conference, Southland head coach Scott Koenigs and three of his top starters stood before members of the media with their heads held high.
In their first-ever state tournament appearance, the No. 4-seeded Rebels came up short against No. 5 Hills-Beaver Creek 72-69 in the Class 1A state quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Target Center. Despite the loss, their message was clear.
"We'll be back."
The showdown between the Rebels and Patriots was everything you'd expect from a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup.
Six-foot-1 junior guard Tate Goergen put the Rebels on the board first with a breakaway dunk and the Patriots followed it up with a second-chance tip-in layup by senior guard Micah Bush a couple plays later.
In the end, there were 13 lead changes and nine ties. Things were knotted up at 37 apiece at halftime and after the break, the Patriots went on an 8-0 scoring run to set the tone for the final 18 minutes.
The Patriots were up by 11 points, their largest lead of the game, with 8:14 remaining.
"It was a great basketball game," Koenigs said. "It was two very good teams, I think two of the best teams in the state, that had to square up against each other in game one. But they're big, they're physical, they did a great job of attacking the zone. ... And I'm proud of my guys. You know, we got down 10 in the second half, and we came back and we hit some big shots. And our thing is energy. We're always about energy. We're always about playing hard, and we did that today."
The Rebels had multiple chances to tie the game as the clock wound down in the final minute of regulation, but they were unable to find the equalizer. It was a game of inches, or rather, three points.
Koenigs' son, 5-foot-7 freshman guard Brekken Koenigs, had a huge day from beyond the 3-point arc, going 5-for-6. He finished with 17 points, only behind Goergen and junior Henry Wiste, who notched 21 points each. Goergen added seven rebounds and seven assists while Wiste contributed five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
"He had big shots coming down the stretch," Wiste said of Koenigs. "We tried to get him the ball in the one (at the end of the game), but they had eight guys flying out at him. Kind of hard to shoot the ball when he's 5-7 and these guys are 6-5 jumping out at him."
With just three seniors on the roster and their entire starting line expected to return to the court next season, the Rebels are certain they can make another run to the state tournament.
"Just getting our feet wet this year was big, since we don't have a senior in the top six, rotation-wise," Koenigs said. "I just got done telling the boys that, we have to learn from this. We have to work harder. We know what it's like to play the best teams in the state now. We're going to see, watch some more games, but we'll be back. We've got some kids that will grow and get bigger and stronger, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, and so hopefully we'll be back."
Now, with their first state tournament game under their belts, the Rebels will have this quarterfinal loss in the back of their minds next season as they work to return to the big stage.
"We'll, for sure, remember this for next year when we're at state," Goergen said. "Having that feeling that we couldn't make it to The Barn, or we can't have a chance to win the state title this year, so that's just going to add more fuel to the fire for next year."
The Rebels also used this season to show the state of Minnesota what Southland boys basketball is all about.
"I heard a few people upstairs, they were looking at the brackets, and they were like, 'Who is Southland? We've never heard of Southland.' So I think this year, we definitely put ourselves on the map. And next year, I think everyone will know who we are," Goergen said.
Hills-Beaver Creek boys basketball is also at state for the first time, but the Patriots have experience playing in the football state tournament the past three seasons. They were Class 9-Player runners-up in 2024 and state champions in 2025.
"They have three incredible scorers," H-BC head coach Chad Rauk said. "They have some great athletes, just like we do. We knew it was going to be a battle. And obviously, we kind of knew who we had to take care of, and it's still a challenge. But at the end of the day, they have to guard us, too. And I think sometimes when you get this late in the season, you can kind of worry about other teams and what they're going to do, and kind of forget your identity at times. I think we knew what they wanted to do, but we needed to make sure our identity wasn't going to be jeopardized."
The Patriots (28-3) will play No. 1 Henning in the Class 1A state semifinals at noon on Friday at Williams Arena. Henning is at state for the second straight year and advanced to the semifinals after taking down No. 8 Upsala 61-45 on Thursday morning at Target Center.
The Rebels (28-2) aren't done just yet. They will play Upsala in the consolation semifinals at 10 a.m. on Friday at Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center for a chance to advance to the fifth-place game on Saturday.
One thing is for certain: Southland boys basketball fans and the communities of Adams, Dexter and Rose Creek — who traveled well to Minneapolis to support the Rebels' first state berth — will remember this season for many years to come.
BOX SCORE: Hills-Beaver Creek 72, Southland 69
Continue reading...
In their first-ever state tournament appearance, the No. 4-seeded Rebels came up short against No. 5 Hills-Beaver Creek 72-69 in the Class 1A state quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon at Target Center. Despite the loss, their message was clear.
"We'll be back."
The showdown between the Rebels and Patriots was everything you'd expect from a No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup.
Six-foot-1 junior guard Tate Goergen put the Rebels on the board first with a breakaway dunk and the Patriots followed it up with a second-chance tip-in layup by senior guard Micah Bush a couple plays later.
In the end, there were 13 lead changes and nine ties. Things were knotted up at 37 apiece at halftime and after the break, the Patriots went on an 8-0 scoring run to set the tone for the final 18 minutes.
The Patriots were up by 11 points, their largest lead of the game, with 8:14 remaining.
"It was a great basketball game," Koenigs said. "It was two very good teams, I think two of the best teams in the state, that had to square up against each other in game one. But they're big, they're physical, they did a great job of attacking the zone. ... And I'm proud of my guys. You know, we got down 10 in the second half, and we came back and we hit some big shots. And our thing is energy. We're always about energy. We're always about playing hard, and we did that today."
The Rebels had multiple chances to tie the game as the clock wound down in the final minute of regulation, but they were unable to find the equalizer. It was a game of inches, or rather, three points.
Koenigs' son, 5-foot-7 freshman guard Brekken Koenigs, had a huge day from beyond the 3-point arc, going 5-for-6. He finished with 17 points, only behind Goergen and junior Henry Wiste, who notched 21 points each. Goergen added seven rebounds and seven assists while Wiste contributed five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
"He had big shots coming down the stretch," Wiste said of Koenigs. "We tried to get him the ball in the one (at the end of the game), but they had eight guys flying out at him. Kind of hard to shoot the ball when he's 5-7 and these guys are 6-5 jumping out at him."
With just three seniors on the roster and their entire starting line expected to return to the court next season, the Rebels are certain they can make another run to the state tournament.
"Just getting our feet wet this year was big, since we don't have a senior in the top six, rotation-wise," Koenigs said. "I just got done telling the boys that, we have to learn from this. We have to work harder. We know what it's like to play the best teams in the state now. We're going to see, watch some more games, but we'll be back. We've got some kids that will grow and get bigger and stronger, juniors, sophomores and freshmen, and so hopefully we'll be back."
Now, with their first state tournament game under their belts, the Rebels will have this quarterfinal loss in the back of their minds next season as they work to return to the big stage.
"We'll, for sure, remember this for next year when we're at state," Goergen said. "Having that feeling that we couldn't make it to The Barn, or we can't have a chance to win the state title this year, so that's just going to add more fuel to the fire for next year."
The Rebels also used this season to show the state of Minnesota what Southland boys basketball is all about.
"I heard a few people upstairs, they were looking at the brackets, and they were like, 'Who is Southland? We've never heard of Southland.' So I think this year, we definitely put ourselves on the map. And next year, I think everyone will know who we are," Goergen said.
Hills-Beaver Creek boys basketball is also at state for the first time, but the Patriots have experience playing in the football state tournament the past three seasons. They were Class 9-Player runners-up in 2024 and state champions in 2025.
"They have three incredible scorers," H-BC head coach Chad Rauk said. "They have some great athletes, just like we do. We knew it was going to be a battle. And obviously, we kind of knew who we had to take care of, and it's still a challenge. But at the end of the day, they have to guard us, too. And I think sometimes when you get this late in the season, you can kind of worry about other teams and what they're going to do, and kind of forget your identity at times. I think we knew what they wanted to do, but we needed to make sure our identity wasn't going to be jeopardized."
The Patriots (28-3) will play No. 1 Henning in the Class 1A state semifinals at noon on Friday at Williams Arena. Henning is at state for the second straight year and advanced to the semifinals after taking down No. 8 Upsala 61-45 on Thursday morning at Target Center.
The Rebels (28-2) aren't done just yet. They will play Upsala in the consolation semifinals at 10 a.m. on Friday at Concordia University's Gangelhoff Center for a chance to advance to the fifth-place game on Saturday.
One thing is for certain: Southland boys basketball fans and the communities of Adams, Dexter and Rose Creek — who traveled well to Minneapolis to support the Rebels' first state berth — will remember this season for many years to come.
BOX SCORE: Hills-Beaver Creek 72, Southland 69
Continue reading...
