From left: Wahpeton seniors Garnett Anderson, Alex Comings, Brayden Steffens and Landon Ralph accept the Huskies’ sixth-place hardware at the Fargodome
Wahpeton’s slow start gave way to a furious finish, but it wasn’t enough Saturday as the fifth-seeded Huskies fell to third-seeded Four Winds-Minnewaukan, 65-58, in the Division “A” Consolation Championship. Wahpeton trailed the Indians 46-31 through three quarters, before charging back to tie the game.
The Indians were led by Keyson Littlewind’s efficient scoring off the bench. Littlewind dropped a team-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting while grabbing a game-high four steals. Jonte Delorme and Tyler Black Jr. scored 13 and 11, respectively.
Region 2A Senior Athlete of the Year, Marial Deng, was held to eight points. He still made a sizable impact for the Indians with nine rebounds, three assists and a game-sealing block.
Wahpeton’s one-two punch on the perimeter delivered one last time, as Jack Gilbertson and Brayden Steffens combined to score 42 points. Gilbertson scored 23 alongside five rebounds, three assists and two steals. For the second straight day, Steffens shot 8 of 9 at the charity stripe, closing with 15 points, three rebounds and two assists.
Brayden Steffens dribbles from the corner as Joran Lohnes guards the ball
Steffens took over on back-to-back possessions in the late going, getting from rim to rim in a hurry for five quick points. Gilbertson converted a tough and-one and Cooper Koolmo buried a corner three, as the Huskies slashed a 15-point deficit to one. Wahpeton outscored Four Winds-Minnewaukan 27-19 in the final eight minutes after scoring just six points in the third quarter.
Koolmo helped the Huskies with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting. Treyton King also collected eight points and drilled a corner three at the shot-clock buzzer to kickstart the comeback. King supplemented his scoring with five rebounds and three steals.
Cooper Koolmo (15) closed his sophomore year with several clutch plays at the state tournament
Wahpeton senior Garnett Anderson drew the start and played excellent perimeter defense to begin the game. Senior center Alex Comings grabbed five rebounds. Region 1A Senior Athlete of the Year Brayden Steffens finished the tournament with a three-game scoring average of 19.6 points.
The Indians (24-4) came up with a pair of stops in the final minute, clinching the game at the free-throw line to claim fifth place at the state tournament. Wahpeton (20-8) finishes one spot higher than last season with its sixth-place showing. Wahpeton has now qualified for state two years in a row.
