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March 14, 2000
Tigers stun second-seeded LoyolaBy PAUL DUNLAP Journal Sports Editor ST. PETER -- Perhaps Springfield coach Dennis Youngerberg was right. "I had said I was disappointed with the fifth seed (in the sub-section)," he said. "I thought we should have been third for sure, playing in the Tomahawk (Conference). Now I turn around and look, and we're the only one left." Those words were spoken after his Tigers boys basketball team won the Section 2A, South Sub-section championship with a 65-57 win over No. 2-seeded Mankato Loyola at Gustavus Adolphus' Gus Young Court. Springfield, now 16-9 on the season, will face Le Center Friday, 5 p.m., at MSU-Mankato's Otto Arena for the section title and the right to move on to the state tournament. The Crusaders end their season at 15-10. "In this tournament business, you get a lot of good teams that just happen to bite the dust, have an off night," Youngerberg said. "Luckily, the last five games we've just been rolling, just playing well. And if you're going to play well, this is the time to do it." The game didn't start well for the Tigers as missed layups and second opportunities left the door open for Loyola. Jon McCabe canned a pair of 3-pointers as the Crusaders opened with the first 10 points of the game. "It (misses) bothered me a lot, because we've done it before," Youngerberg said. "When we missed those first two or three gimmes ... we could have been up 6-zip, and as it was we were down 10." Randy Roiger would get the Tigers on the board at the 3:59 mark, and both Lincoln Anderson and Adam Luckhardt came off the bench to provide the spark with a combined seven first-quarter points. Justin Krueger also hit a pair of buckets, and Springfield clawed back to knot the game 13-13 after one. "Lincoln Anderson's not really a non-starter," Youngerberg explained. "He was hurt in the Wabasso game, and is now beginning to come back. We've said all along that we really have six starters, plus Luckhardt is so quick. We came off (the bench) and got a few steals, and really got us going." Cantres hit three baskets in the first part of the second quarter, with McCabe hitting another trey, as Loyola built its lead back to five at 27-22, but Roiger and Nick Feser combined for the last eight points of the half and the Tigers held a 32-29 edge. "We didn't do anything fancy during halftime at all," Youngerberg said. "We just said we've got 16 minutes left, and just play as hard as you can. If we're going to lose, we're going to do it together." The third quarter was a back-and-forth duel, with neither team scoring back-to-back baskets. A pair of Ben Schwamberger 3-pointers knotted the game at 41-41, and two buckets from Jason Reese would keep the Tigers even at 45-45 after three. The fourth quarter started with hoops from Anderson and Justin Krueger, and Springfield would not trail again. An Adam Timm 3-pointer pushed the edge to 54-49, and his three-point play with 3:43 left upped that to 59-51. Cantres was then fouled shooting a 3-pointer, but missed all three free throws as Roiger's runner with 2:18 left gave the Tigers a double-digit lead. Cantres would keep it close with a pair of buckets, but two free throws and a basket from Reese would ensure the win as the Tiger faithful swarmed the court. Roiger led the very balanced Springfield attack with 12 points and seven rebounds. Nick Feser had 11 points, Anderson and Reese each added 10, and both Timm and Krueger contributed nine. Cantres scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Crusaders. Tony Rotchadl and McCabe each finished with nine. "I just wanted us to play hard, and play smart," Youngerberg said. "I thought we did that tonight." LOYOLA 13 16 16 12--57 SPRINGFIELD 13 19 13 20--65 LOYOLA (57): Cantres 20, Rotchadl 9, McCabe 9, Schwamberger 6, Nelson 6, Arians 4, Barnett 3. SPRINGFIELD (65): Roiger 12, Feser 11, Anderson 10, Reese 10, Timm 9, Krueger 9, Luckhardt 4.
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