Edmunds County Tribune -

Ipswich dodged more than one bullet in a boys' high school basketball win over Faulkton last Thursday in Faulkton. Eric Severson scored on a turn-around jumper from the paint, which would give Ipswich a narrow 46-44 lead with just over a minute to play. Yes, that lead would stand up, even though the Tigers missed some crucial free throw chances that would have helped their cause even more! Faulkton would indeed get one final opportunity to win or send the game into OT, but the Trojans missed and Ipswich celebrated its LRC win.

There always seems to be a fierce rivalry with defensive intensity from the opening tip-off when those two teams do battle and last Thursday night was no different! Believe it or not that basket from the Ipswich senior center would prove to be Ipswich's only score of the entire fourth quarter. (Faulkton scored four points.)

"Yeah,  the fourth quarter was tough for both teams, very low scoring," said Tiger coach Tyler Severson. "We got some rebounds and some timely turnovers from them."

A huge Ty Kadlec trey at the third-quarter buzzer had given Ipswich a 44-40 lead with a quarter to play. The hosts had led 16-14 after a quarter, but Matt Hettich's buzzer beater gave Ipswich a 30-27 edge at intermission. There were four ties and four lead changes that evening.

Kadlec would finish with 17 points, including three treys. Next was Matt Hettich with eight points which included one trey. Taylor Thorson scored seven points that featured Ipswich's remaining trey. Josh McQuarie added six points,  Severson four points and Carson Gohl and Carter Geditz a basket apiece.

Faulkton's Hunter Niederbaumer scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double in anybody's book. Bennett Cassens was their second leading scorer with eight points and four other Trojans would dent their scorebook.

Ipswich shot an overall 19-44 from the floor which included those five treys and added a 3-7 free throw effort. The hosts were 18-47 from the floor with three treys and were 5-11 at the line.

You may credit Ipswich with a narrow 31-30 rebounding edge, led by McQuarie and Severson with five each. Ipswich ended up with 15 turnovers; Faulkton, 15 as well. You can't get much closer than that in those two crucial stats. Ipswich forced nine miscues with steals, led by Thorson with four. Faulkton countered with 10 steals of its own.

Ipswich had started its busy week with a homecourt battle of the Tigers resulting in a 51-28 victory by the Class A Groton Tigers last Tuesday. They kick-started their win with a quick 7-0 lead, interrupted by a Kadlec trey to put Ipswich on the scoreboard. But Groton still led 8-6 after a quarter despite a Thorson basket that closed out the initial stanza. Groton then led 22-11 at halftime and obtained  a 40-20 cushion with three quarters in the books.

Taylor Thorson in action.

The visitors were led by Lane Tietz with 13 points and Jayden Zak with 12 counters. Six more Groton players landed in their scoring column that night. Ipswich countered with McQuarie's 11 points, which included a trey. Matt Hettich added five points, as did Kadlec who featured a trey. Jordan Nierman added three points on a trey and Thorson three points, as well. Severson's free throw capped Ipswich's scoring effort that evening.

The visiting Tigers made 19 baskets that included eight treys and were 5-12 in free throws. Ipswich finished with 11 accurate baskets that included its trio of treys. The IHS Tigers were 3-8 in free throw attempts.

The visitors enjoyed a 31-23 rebounding edge, despite five by McQuarie. Ipswich sustained 22 turnover; Groton, 14. Each team had eight steals.