Minneapolis finished 2017 with a bang by capturing a road victory over Republic County Tuesday night. Sophomore Derek Freel hit the go-ahead three with under a minute to go and Senior Trent Brubaker knocked down two free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory over the Buffaloes, 57-54.
The Lions are now 2-1 in league play.
Minneapolis outscored Republic County 37-28 in the second half behind a balanced offensive attack led by Junior Kaden McCullick, who dropped 10 of his team-high 15 points after intermission.
Republic County jumped out to an eight point lead, 18-10, in the first quarter with Senior McKenzie Cromwell scoring 13 in the period. Minneapolis would hold Cromwell to just three points the rest of the way.
Freshman Trent Moeckel led the Lions in scoring in the first half with eight points. Moeckel hit a three late in the second quarter to bring Minneapolis to within three, but Republic County Sophomore Tate Lapo hit a three at the buzzer to give the Buffaloes the 26-20 lead at halftime.
Moeckel would hit from behind the arc two more times in the third quarter to help the Lions to regain a one point lead, 37-36, going into the fourth.
The Lions were led by McCullick’s 15 points, Moeckel had a career-high 14, Brubaker knocked in six, while Freel and Senior TreVaughn Thomas dropped in five points each.
Cromwell led the Buffaloes with 16 points. Senior Noah Springer had 15 and Lapo scored 10.
Minneapolis is 2-4 this season and their next game will be on January 5th at home against Southeast of Saline.
Minneapolis Girls Struggle on Road
Minneapolis was held to only nine points in the second half as the Lions lose to Republic County, 35-25.
Senior Jaycee Blazek scored seven points in the second quarter to lead the charge for the Lady Buffs, who picked up their first win of the season.
The Lions were led in scoring from Junior Karisma Vignery, who had nine points in the loss. Senior Faythe Korinek had eight points before fouling out with six minutes left in the game. Sophomore Zoie Shupe scored four, while Freshman Courtney Forte had three for Minneapolis.
Blazek finished with 12 points for Republic County and had 11 points from Sophomore Alexis Hansen.
https://soundcloud.com/minneapolis-lions/minneapolis-mens-12-19-17
