By Becky Walz,
Zach Driscoll (inset left) fires off a shot against stiff Xavier defense Monday in the substate final.(Photo by Becky Walz)
Decorah fans streamed into the gym early Monday night full of excitement and left in eerie silence after Xavier bounced back from a 14-point halftime deficit to defeat the Viking boys’ basketball team in the substate final in overtime.
It marks the eighth time the Saints have qualified for the Class 3A state tournament, leaving Viking fans with discontent.
Standing room only
No one should have been fooled by Xavier’s 14-9 record entering Monday’s substate final in Decorah with a trip to state on the line as the Saints primarily play in a Class 4A Mississippi Valley Conference and entered the contest 7-0 against Class 3A opponents.
Just seconds after the tip-off, Noah Milburn put up Decorah’s first two points of the game before Xavier took the reins with a 13-6 lead with 2:38 remaining in the opening frame. Draining a pair of free throws and a long three-pointer, Zach Driscoll sandwiched a Milburn basket to even the score 13-all when the buzzer sang. The Vikings scored the first 11 points of the second period, pulling ahead to a 24-13 lead before giving up a charity toss to the Saints to carry a 31-17 lead into the locker room.
A Gavin Groux three pointer doubled up Xavier 34-17 less than a minute into the third quarter as the Saints began to scratch their way back into the game with a 7-0 run in the middle portion of the frame. Milburn’s third and fourth fouls in the third sent the junior to the bench for some time, giving up some size, speed and scoring for Decorah. When the quarter ended, the Saints were back to within six, 43-37, and they weren’t done yet.
Despite the Vikes’ best efforts in the fourth, Xavier pulled within on, 48-47, with 3:18 remaining. With a Saints player off to the races for what looked like an easy layup, Gavin Groux hit the jets to bat the ball out of bounds. Milburn soon countered with a deep three pointer to lift Decorah ahead 51-47. A decisive moment came with 1:54 left to play as Cael LaFrentz left the lane to attempt to block a Xavier three pointer. In the process the Saints’ player nailed the three and LaFrentz was hit with his fifth foul, sending him to the bench. Peyton Webb stepped up to the challenge next, hitting a three and putting the Vikes out front 54-51. Xavier drove right back to its basket and hit for an and-one three-point play to tie the score 54-54. After Milburn took a charge with eight ticks on the clock, Decorah had the final look at the basket; however, Driscoll’s shot came up short.
Set to play another four minutes, the two teams stepped back onto the hardwood with the Saints winning the tip and getting the first basket. Milburn’s pair of free throws kept the score even 56-56 as did Driscoll’s layup nearly a minute later after Xavier hit another shot. A Saint bucket with 41 seconds remaining forced Decorah to foul to stop the clock, with Xavier connecting on 2-of-6 from the charity stripe, just enough to leave the Vikings in dismay 62-59.
Xavier 13 4 20 17 8 62
Decorah 13 18 12 11 5 59
Scoring – Zachary Driscoll 18; Peyton Webb 15; Cael LaFrentz 12; Noah Milburn 11; Gavin Groux 5; Carter Dlhy 2
Getting to the final
Thursday, the Vikings had a bundle of energy and momentum as they rolled over Independence (9-14) in the substate semifinal at home 93-46.
Decorah shot out of a cannon with a 12-0 run before a Mustang player hit a trey with 3:30 left in the first period. Viking junior Peyton Webb stepped onto the court, hitting back to back threes and helping push the Vikings to a 29-9 lead with eight minutes complete. Webb then ignited the Decorah offense with the first bucket of the second frame before the teams began to trade baskets that led to a 46-26 halftime lead.
Seconds into the third period, Zach Driscoll lobbed the ball into Noah Milburn under the basket for a shot. Driscoll zeroed in on Milburn a second time a little while later before Driscoll hit the long shot behind the arc, pulling the Vikings further ahead. A flush by Milburn put an exclamation point on the frame to make it 62-30 at the midpoint. Before time drained in the quarter, LaFrentz stuffed a pair of shots into the net leading to continuous clock with a 35-point differential and a 76-36 advantage. Decorah kept the shots falling in the fourth with the bench cleared, outscoring the Mustangs 17-10.
LaFrentz posted a school record 44 points to go with 14 rebounds and two blocked shots. Driscoll contributed 13 points, 16 assists, eight boards and two steals. Milburn and Webb finished with 10 points apiece. Carter Dlhy pulled down eight rebounds with six points.
Independence 9 17 10 10 46
Decorah 29 17 30 17 93
Scoring – LaFrentz 44; Driscoll 13; Milburn 10; Webb 10; Dlhy 6; Louie Bucksa 3; Tanner Caddell 3; Groux 2; Jackson Pipho 2
Rebounds – LaFrentz 14; Driscoll 8; Dlhy 8; Milburn 4; Caddell 3; Trevor Kuennen 2; Bucksa 2; Pipho 2; Groux 1; Webb 1; Keaton Nalean-Carlson 1; Assists – Driscoll 16; Groux 3; Kuennen 3; Milburn 3; Dlhy 3; Webb 2; Nalean-Carlson 2; LaFrentz 1; Pipho 1; Steals – Driscoll 2; Milburn 2; Kuennen 1; Webb 1; Caddell 1; Nalean-Carlson 1; Blocks – LaFrentz 2
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