The Northwestern Tigers used a tough defense to stop the Spooner Rails 57-38 in a boys WIAA Division 3 regional semifinal game Friday night in Maple.
The win gives the Tigers a 19-5 record and a date with the Ladysmith Lumberjacks on Saturday at Rice Lake.
Northwestern started out hot Friday night, getting a 10-4 lead behind three baskets and seven points by Dee Burse. Spooner quickly tied it up at 10 all before the Tigers closed out the first quarter with a run to give themselves a 16-12 quarter lead.
Northwestern stretched it to 19-12 before a 7-0 Rail run tied it up once again at 19-19 with 5:49 to go in the half. From that point on Northwestern outscored Spooner 17-1 to finish the half.
Dylan Jardine, the 6-foot-5 sophomore, drilled seven points and the half, which ended with Tyler Forsythe scoring a layup off of a Gabe Dinkel steal with five seconds to go.
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The ensuing inbounds pass was stolen by Kendall Abrahamzon and he drilled a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 36-20 halftime lead.
An 8-2 start in the third quarter gave Northwestern a 22-point lead and pretty much iced the game, although no one in the gym was sure of that since Spooner came from 21 points behind in the fourth quarter two weeks ago to upset the Tigers.
This time 14 was the closest the Rails could get as the Tiger defense was stifling.
Forsythe played great defense on Rail point guard and the HON leading scorer Brain Lindblom, who was held to only 10 points, 11 under his average.
For the game, Spooner shot 29 percent while Northwestern shot 52 percent.
Spooner had problems on the line as well, finishing only 6-of-15 on free throws. Northwestern was 5-of-7.
Forsythe led Northwestern with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Burse and Abrahamzon each had 10 points, Justin Alexson had eight points and five assists, Jardine had seven first-half points and Ryan Santikko and Sam Williams each had two points.
Jordan Wagner led Spooner with 11 points, Lindblom had 10, Sam Holden seven, Austin Hochstetler six, Bryson Grubbs three, and Logan Anderson one.
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Spooner finishes the season at 13-9.
The regional championship game at "Ole" Olson Gym in Rice Lake will begin at 7 p.m. and will feature the top two teams from the Heart O' North Conference. Ladysmith (21-2), the HON champs, defeated Cumberland 65-47 Friday and defeated the Tigers twice during the regular season.
