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Fink, Scheffler lead Tigers

Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Springfield’s Decker Scheffler (15) takes a shot after getting past Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s AJ Buboltz during the first half Tuesday in Springfield. For more photos of this event go to cu.nujournal.com

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield made it look a little too easy in the first half.

After Springfield jumped out to an 18-point first-half lead, Minnesota Valley Lutheran made a game of it and nearly wiped away that deficit before falling short 91-81 in a Tomahawk Conference boys’ basketball game on Tuesday.

The Tigers (22-2, 16-0 Tomahawk), ranked No. 7 in Class A, shot 58 percent from the floor in taking a 56-38 lead into the locker room. The second half, however, was a different story.

“Maybe the first half came a little too easy,” Springfield coach Lance Larson said. “Sometimes when that happens, the guys’ tendency is to get a little complacent and I think that’s what happened in the second half.”

The Chargers (18-7, 12-4) came out of the locker room and hit the Tigers in the mouth with back-to-back 3-pointers from sophomore Jake Kettner. Those 3s ignited an 18-3 run that almost completely wiped out the Tigers’ lead, cutting it to 59-55.

Kettner hit eight 3-pointers in finishing with a game-high 34 points and six assists.

“Jake came out really motivated in the second half and let the game come to him — and he took it to the game,” MVL coach Craig Morgan said. “He’s capable of doing that and he’s knows when he’s got his shots and when he’s got to score.”

Springfield kept its head above water, however, in never letting MVL overtake its lead for the rest of the game. A three-point play and a mid-range jumper by sophomore Isaac Fink helped keep Springfield afloat before a steal and a layup by senior Branden Flock forced Morgan to call a timeout with 10:53 to go.

From there, MVL never got closer than seven for the rest of the night.

“It’s important to be able to fight through adversity and you’re going to see it this time of year,” Larson said. “To gather the troops, as they say, and refocus and fight through it, that’s a big thing.”

Freshman Decker Scheffler had a big first half for Springfield in notching 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting to tie Kettner and Fink for the game high at halftime. Scheffler finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds coming off the bench.

“Decker is probably a kid who shouldn’t come off the bench — I mean, he deserves to start — but he does such a good job for us coming off the bench,” Larson said. “We can put him in for anybody. It doesn’t have to be by position, he can guard anybody, he’s physical.

“Like I’ve told him before, he’s not a freshman anymore. He was a freshman at the beginning of the year, but he’s not anymore. He’s been playing very well.”

Fink finished with a team-high 30 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals for the Tigers. Senior Kale Meendering had 17 points, while Flock had 10.

Behind Kettner’s 34-point performance, senior Nick Fischer had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Chargers. Sophomore Matthew Munsen had 11 points and five assists, while senior A.J. Buboltz had 10 points and four assists.

“We’re real confident in what we’ve got with our guys,” Morgan said. “I’m proud of the way they played in the second half. A lot of people would have rolled over and just given up. But the guys played hard up and down the line. That’s going to be a good springboard.”

Springfield hosts St. Clair on Friday before playing BOLD on Monday at Bird Island. MVL hosts Madelia on Monday.

MVL 38 43 — 81

Springfield 56 35 — 91

MVL (81)

Buboltz 5-6 0-0 10, Koelpin 1-6 0-0 2, Kettner 13-24 0-0 34, Munsen 4-8 3-4 11, N Fischer 10-15 2-5 22, Parker 0-3 0-0 0, Gratz 0-0 0-0 0, Marotz 1-2 0-2 2, Stein 0-4 0-0 0.

SPRINGFIELD (91)

Vogel 2-6 2-2 6, Fink 10-18 7-9 30, Meendering 6-8 3-4 15, Beckman 2-3 0-0 4, Flock 5-14 0-1 10, Scheffler 9-15 0-0 20, N Bertram 2-5 0-0 6, Buerkle 0-3 0-0 0.

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