With his team in control of the game as the first half was nearing an end, Ben Tohm proved how this night apparently was going to belong to Tohm and his Starkweather-Munich teammates.
Tohm went hard to the basket for a layup and was fouled with 1:42 left in the second quarter. When contact was made, the 5-foot, 8-inch senior simply tossed the ball up and hoped for the best.
His wish came through as his toss rippled the twine and gave the Magic Storm a 22-11 lead on the way to a 48-40 win over Wells County in the first round of the Region 4 tournament at the Devils Lake Sports Center.
The win moves Starkweather-Munich into Tuesday’s semifinal round where the Magic Storm will play Carrington to determine one half of Thursday’s championship matchup.
Starkweather-Munich led from start to finish, but needed a strong push over the final eight minutes to keep a pesky Bears team at bay.
Wells County used a 14-9 spurt in the third quarter to close a 24-13 halftime deficit. The Bears trailed 33-27 heading into the final quarter of play.
“(Wells County) went to a man-to-man defense and we kind of fell asleep,” S-M coach Stanley Dick said. “Once we adjusted to their quickness, we were fine.”
Travis Beck got things going for the Magic Storm in the final period. His 3-pointer at 7:01 gave S-M a seven-point lead and his block less than 90 seconds later, which led to a pass to a streaking Trevor Darling for an easy layup, put the victors in front 38-29 with 5:39 left in the game.
Wells County would get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
Beck and Blake Klein both finished in double figures for the Magic Storm. Beck led the way with 15 points, eight of those coming in the first half, while Klein ended the contest with 11 points of his own. Tohm narrowly missed out on double digits and finished the game with nine points.
Caleb Rogelstad scored a game-high 16 points, including 15 points on five 3-pointers, for the Bears.
WC 3 10 14 13 – 40
S-M 14 10 9 15 – 48
WC (40): Caleb Rogelstad 16, Kolten Knodel 8, Kelby Houchin 7, Zach Johnson 4, Logan Neumiller 3, Derek Melby 2.
S-M (48): Travis Beck 15, Blake Klein 11, Ben Tohm 9, Trevor Darling 8, Lance Logie 5.
3-pointers: WC 5 (Rogelstad 5), S-M 3 (Tohm 1, Logie 1, Beck 1). Rebounds: WC 26 (Houchin 8), S-M 34 (Klein 14). Fouls: WC 14, S-M 13. Fouled out: none. Assists: WC 11 (Neumiller 5), S-M 7 (Tohm 3). Steals: WC 5 (Neumiller 3), S-M 8 (Darling 2, Beck 2). Blocked shots: WC 1 (Rogelstad 1), S-M 2 (Klein 1, Brandon Hoffman 1). Turnovers: WC 9, S-M 11.
