Bobcats cut short from State Championship

SUPERIOR – Last week, the Superior Bobcats had the State Championship within reach before they were defeated in the semifinals of the Class C State Championship in Butte.

The week started off well as the guys won their first match of the championships against the Broadus Hawks.

On Thursday, March 6 the Bobcats claimed a close victory with a narrow 13-point gap. Both teams came out of the gate with a powerful burst of energy. At the end of the first quarter the Superior boys were slightly ahead with a score of 19-11.

In the second quarter the Bobcats stomped down on the Hawk offense and kept them under five points. Meanwhile Superior leapt ahead to gain a decisive lead as the half ended. The quarter came to a close with a score of 33-15.

As the teams came back from halftime, they were on equal footing again and brought in similar points. While Broadus brought in more points in the quarter, Superior’s lead was strong enough to keep them ahead. The Bobcats were able to strengthen their lead with a score of 48-33.

In the final quarter, neither team got many points. Their drive to keep the opposition from scoring hindered both team’s efforts and neither broke 10 points. In the end, Superior came out ahead with a final score of 52-39.

Head Coach Chris Toivenen said this was a huge accomplishment given the level of competition at the championship. He said the tournament drew the top eight teams together and the level of talent was amazing.

“These teams are so good,” Toivenen said. “There are 87 teams in Class C Basketball and you’re playing the elite eight.”

Senior Jarrod Tippens and junior Wyatt Zylawy both brought in 12 points as the top scorers. Senior Clint Voll came in second with nine points.

Up until this point, the Bobcats had enjoyed an undefeated season. The team’s first defeat happened on Friday, March 7 at the hands of the Westby-Grenora Mon-Dak Thunder in the final minutes of the game.

The guys had an amazing first quarter. They pulled ahead with almost twice as many points as Westby-Grenora. The second quarter was closer, but the Bobcats kept ahead and maintained their lead to a half-time score of 22-17.

This was where the trouble started. According to Toivenen, the guys went cold after the first half.

The teams did not make much progress in the third quarter and neither team broke five points. Toivenen said the Superior boys had good shots, but they just would not go in.

It was in the final quarter where things turned around. The only problem was it was not a turnaround in Superior’s favor. The Mon-Dak Thunder pressed their attack and pulled ahead, gaining a lead and ending an epic winning streak. The final score was 34-40.

“It just came down to, honestly they were able to make a few more free throws,” Toivenen said. “They shot more free throws than we did and they were able to make them. That ended up being the difference in the game.”

Toivenen said their opposition was a powerful team. Westby-Grenora is a young team, but having made it to state last year, they were a good one. He said their opponents had a good defensive team and the Bobcats had a harder time making shots as they struggled with the opposition.

“These teams at state are so good on defense, they’re so fast and quick that it’s harder to get good shots,” Toivenen said. “You’ve got to go deeper into your offense than that.”

Saturday morning, March 8 the guys faced off against the Wibaux Longhorns in a last effort to return for the Championship round. Toivenen said the game was very close. While Wibaux had a seven point lead at the end of the first half, the second was a back and forth match.

At the end, the game was almost tied into overtime and the Bobcats only needed to make a three-point basket to continue playing. Then Wibaux was able to sink a free throw and end the game, ending the Bobcat’s season. The final score was a narrow 47-51.

Toivenen did not feel too badly about the losses. He noted Westby-Grenora and Wibaux were the second and third place teams in the state. While it was unfortunate they did not win the championship, the coach felt the Bobcats held their own against two of the best teams in the state.

“Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of a group of kids,” Toivenen said. “We came up short and, ultimately, we wanted to be playing Saturday night. But these guys came with everything they had, especially in defense.”

With a season total of 24  to 0, Toivenen felt this year was a huge success. He said it was an unbelievable accomplishment, which was very hard to do given the teams they faced. He felt the guys should be proud of their performance and how they were able to entertain the community with a strong boost to morale.

“It was pretty cool because at the State Tournament, we had a lot of former players who had played for Superior over there,” Toivenen said. “A lot of fans made the trip. I know that I appreciated it and so did the kids. That kind of support over there, it was a pretty amazing experience.”

Toivenen felt the games were a team effort and everyone played as hard as they could. He said the guys gave it everything they had and the thing he was most proud of was how they pushed themselves harder each game.

“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t make shots when we needed them,” Toivenen said. “We had some good looks, just sometimes couldn’t get them to fall.”

He said a team needed to have four great quarters at this level of basketball. If a team has even one sub-par quarter, they can quickly get overwhelmed. He thought this was evident in the aftermath of this week’s games.

Toivenen was impressed with the performances of the team’s seniors. He said without Tucker Smith, Tanner Smith, Tippens and Voll the Bobcats would have had a very ordinary team. The players were very coachable and did everything Toivenen asked them to.

“They were an amazing group of kids to work with,” Toivenen said. “I only wish they could have played the State Championship game, because that would have been a more fitting end to their career and how hard they worked.”

Toivenen said the seniors would be impossible to replace. He hopes the community will look at this season with pride and see it as one for the ages.