Youth Basketball Round-up

Girls first at Duluth East

Superior's seventh-grade girls traveling basketball team won four games over the weekend to finish first in a Great Northwest League Tournament at Duluth East.

The girls started tournament play with a 46-10 win over Duluth East Gray. Jessica Lindstrom had 25 points, Hailey Kontny added eight points, Melissa Toland had five and Harmony Clarke and Emily Hansen each scored four.

Superior's second game in the six-team tournament was a 46-16 win over Duluth East Red. Lindstrom had 21 points, Kontny added 14, Shannon Johnstad had four, Hansen three and Clarke and Toland each scored a basket.

Superior's third game was a 51-15 win over Hayward. Lindstrom had 17 points, Kontny 12, Toland and Rachal Fregin both scored six, Hansen and Taylor Nelson each added four and Johnstad chipped in with a basket.

The championship game was against Hermantown, which like Superior, was undefeated on the day. Superior outscored Hermantown in every quarter and went on to win 49-26. Lindstrom had 26 points, Kontny 12, Johnstad seven and Fregin and Hansen two each.

Superior (17-2) next plays Jan. 31 at Stillwater, Minn., in another seventh-grade tournament before playing in three straight eighth-grade tournaments during February. In Stillwater, Superior will play Stillwater, Rochester and Winona.

Superior is coached by Mitch Lindstrom, Steve Fregin and Mark Nelson.

First in Barron

The Superior eighth-grade boys traveling team was in Barron this past weekend and went 4-0 to win the championship.

Superior once again struggled with the early morning game but came out on top against Stillwater, 47-38. Erick Tunell led the way with 11 points, Ben Erickson added 10 and Spencer Urban and Derek Kontny each had eight. Kontny, Erickson and Tunell all hit key free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Superior then defeated Elk Mound 64-21. The Superior boys jumped out early in this one, posting their biggest quarter of the season so far with a 20-point effort to lead 20-7 after one quarter. Erickson, Tunell and Jordan Hughes all scored 10 points and Kontny, Urban, Bryan Sanders and Grant Rindal each added six points. Kyle Turkowski led the way in assists with six.

Superior then defeated Drummond 57-27 in the semifinals. Superior was led in scoring by Erickson with 15 points. Raheem Vann went 7-for-7 from the field for a 14-point game. Vann was equally impressive on the defensive end, totaling six steals.

In the finals, Superior narrowly defeated the host Barron team, 32-31.

Superior jumped out to an early 15-5 edge after the first frame, but then the lid went on the basket for the Superiorites and Barron closed the gap on the lead.

The Spartans led going into the final quarter, 27-22, only the have Barron pull within one point with just minutes to play. Superior went into a four-corner stall offense and forced Barron to come out and foul, putting Superior on the free-throw line. Erickson and Kontny each stepped up and made huge free throws down the stretch.

With all this, Barron still had a chance to win the game. With one second to play, Barron's last-second three-point attempt bounced off the front of the rim.

Tunell led the way in scoring for the Spartans with 22 of the Superior's 32 points. Urban once again dominated the paint in the tournament, swatting away 11 opponent's shots throughout the one-day event.

SMS hosting tourney

Superior's seventh-grade and eighth-grade boys traveling basketball teams will host a tournament Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Superior Middle School.

Superior's eighth-grade team will play its first game at 10:10 a.m. A rematch with Barron will be played at 2:30 p.m.

The seventh-grade Superior team opens the tournament with a 9 a.m. game.

Admission to the event is $4 for adults and $2 for students. Children five and under are free.

A raffle will also be held at the tournament, with prizes donated by the local business community. All proceeds from both admission and the raffle go toward youth basketball.

In addition to Superior, teams taking part in the tournament are Cloquet, North Branch, Grand Rapids, Duluth East and Washburn for the seventh-grade boys and Drummond, Grand Rapids, Barron, Duluth East and Ashland for the eight-grade boys.