Boys basketball: Slow start dooms Tigers

• Photo: Boys basketball

Farmington senior Alex Michels shoots over a Northfield defender during last week’s section tournament game at Tiger Gym. Michels scored 14 points in his final game.

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Otto Pfefferle’s alley-oop slam dunk on the first trip down the floor set the tone for Northfield’s 57-52 win over Farmington in opening round of the Section 1AAAA Tournament last Wednesday night at Tiger Gym.

Pfefferle finished with a game-high 24 points, 12 of which came during an opening run that saw the fifth-seeded Raiders charge to a 19-4 advantage. The 6-foot-8 senior was tough for the undersized Tigers to stop this season as he scored a season-high 28 points in Northfield’s 63-59 overtime win Feb. 18 in Northfield and 21 points in the Raiders’ 50-49 overtime loss Jan. 21 in Farmington.

In the section tournament rubber match, the fourth-seeded Tigers overcame their slow start to move within 27-19 by haltime. The score was tied at 45-45 with six minutes to go, but the Raiders finished with a 12-7 run to advance to a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Owatonna.

The Tigers once again struggled shooting from the field, but they had even more difficulty at the free-throw line where they connected on just eight of 21 attempts.

Senior Alex Michels scored a team-high 14 points in his final career game, matching his senior year average. Sophomore Darren Beenken also matched his average with 10 points and senior Austin Bassett scored eight.

Seniors Sebren Baer and Josh Ruthenbeck scored seven points apiece.

The loss left the Tigers with an overall record of 9-18. They finished the regular season with five straight losses that left them with 3-11 mark that was good enough for sixth in the Missota Conference.

Seven seniors competed for the Tigers this season: Michels, Ruthenbeck, Baer, Sam Hanson, Andy Born, Elliot Fenske and Zach Wallace.

Tags: boys basketball, sports, farmington, tigers, prep