MANKATO — For a team playing in its first section championship game in more than 60 years, you’re kind of hoping that tournament jitters don’t get in the way of a good start.
“They started hitting 3s, and we couldn’t make anything,” Madelia coach Jeff Van Hee said. “Usually, our defense can make some stops and we can hit a few shots. We’ve had a few slow starts this season, but we just couldn’t get it done tonight.”
BOLD made five 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes to open the early lead, holding on to defeat Madelia 76-49 in the championship game of the Section 2A boys basketball tournament Thursday at Bresnan Arena. BOLD (20-10) won its first section title since 1981, when the co-op was just Bird Island, winner of state championships in 1980 and 1981.
It was the first section final for Madelia since 1953, which is also the only time Madelia has competed in the state tournament.
“They really came out strong and physical, and we weren’t there,” Madelia senior Josiah DeMaris said. “We kept pushing, but they made the plays.”
BOLD’s Jack Gross started the game with a 3-pointer, and his wicked one-handed dunk coming down the lane pushed the lead to 15-6 after six minutes. The lead grew to 23-10 before Hayden Jones and DeMaris made consecutive baskets for Madelia.
The bigger and more physical BOLD players started to dominate in the lane, helped by the good 3-point shooting from teammates. Owen Baumgartner had 10 points and nine rebounds, and William Penkert added eight points and nine boards as BOLD, the No. 2 seed in the section, led 43-25 at halftime.
“It’s not like our defense was playing off, but they hit some tough shots,” Van Hee said. “We just needed to hit one key shot to keep from getting down so far.”
Madelia (23-7), which was just 10-17 last season and 4-24 the season before, got six points each from Kaydon Firchau, Dalton Tatro and Tate Becker in the first half.
BOLD scored five baskets in the lane to make it 56-31 with 13 minutes to play and only made two 3-pointers in the second half, but the damage was done early.
“People over-analyze basketball a lot,” Van Hee said. “It’s a make-or-miss game. They made the shots, and we didn’t.”
Jones ended up with a team-high 13 points, and Firchau added 12 points. Kyle Pietsch had six points and seven rebounds.
BOLD will play Thursday at Target Center.
Madelia had only three seniors on the roster — DeMaris, Jones and Pietsch — though Van Hee said it’s tough to replace senior leadership.
“It’s been such an amazing season, especially the last couple weeks,” DeMaris said. “The amount of happiness we’ve all experienced and to see the community come together, it’s beyond words.”
Waseca 76, Belle Plaine 66: The Blue Jays beat the Tigers in the Section 2AA championship game at Bresnan Arena.
Waseca (30-0) will play in the class Class AA tournament on Tuesday at Williams Arena.