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Huskies’ run ends in Lakeville

OHS basketball, owatonna
Owatonna’s Collin Vick makes a diving pass in the post against Lakeville North. The Huskies’ 2022-23 season came to a close after losing 72-44 to the Panthers. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
By
Johnnie Phillips, Sports Editor

No. 4 Owatonna boys basketball’s season came to a close last weekend when the team lost 72-44 on the road against the No. 1 Lakeville North Panthers in the semifinal round of Section 1AAAA play.

The Huskies remained competitive throughout the majority of the first half; however, the Panthers’ second-half offense proved too much for Owatonna.

“The first words I said [to the team] were, ‘Thank you for your heart and the way you competed all season. You have to compete, and that’s what got you into this position this year.’ From how hard they play and how unselfish they are as a group… We just had a phenomenal group of guys and a great class of seniors,” said Owatonna head coach Josh Williams.

After Lakeville North started the game on a 7-0 run, Owatonna jumped right back into the mix and managed to tie the game at 20-20 with only five minutes remaining in the first half.

The Huskies' offense was clicking with seniors Blake Burmeister, Nils Gantert, and Collin Vick all finding multiple scoring opportunities.

While Owatonna managed to shoot 36% from the field in the opening half, its efficiency struggled against Lakeville North’s 46.9% shooting.

The Panthers dominated the remaining five minutes of play with a 14-3 run and went to the locker room with a 34-23 lead.

When the two teams returned to the court, the game continued to shift in favor of the home team.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game, the Panthers’ lead had extended to 22 points at 53-31.

Owatonna’s offense could not find the bounces it needed, while the Panthers shot a blistering 68% from the field.

In the end, Williams’ squad could not escape the hole it had fallen into at the half.

According to Williams, the Huskies entered the game with three major starters – Vick, Burmeister, and Walter – all dealing with illness.

“Blake [Burmeister] hadn’t practiced for three days due to a bad viral infection. Meanwhile, Collin [Vick] missed two-and-a-half practices from an illness, and so did Walter. I mean, Blake came into tonight at maybe 40%, and the other two guys may be around that too,” said Williams.

Lakeville North’s 28-point win earned the team a trip to the Section 1AAAA championship game against cross-town rivals No. 3 Lakeville South.

Prior to facing the Panthers, Owatonna took down No. 5 Rochester Century 80-72 in a double-overtime, quarterfinal game at home.

The Huskies led 34-26 at the half, but a 35-27 second in favor of Rochester Century forced the first overtime period.

Both teams struggled offensively, and after each side scored just four points, the game went into its second overtime period.

This time Owatonna had the answers late with a 15-7 run to end the game.

Owatonna’s final record on the season shakes out to 20-8 overall.

 

Team

1st

2nd

Final

Owatonna

23

21

44

Lakeville North

34

38

72

 

Player Stats

vs. Lakeville North

                     P    R    A

Burmeister     11   0    0

Vick               9    4    4

Klecker          7    2    2

Kleeberger     7    2    0

N. Ginskey     6    0    0

Gantert          4    1    2

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