It was a tale of two halves on Thursday night in the second round of the Rupp Tournament in Halstead.
Both Minneapolis and Halstead combined for 62 points in the first half, but then cooled in the second where the two combined for just 35 points in the final two quarters.
Still, it amounted to a 57-42 win for Minneapolis over Halstead as the Lions move to the fifth-place game of the Rupp Tournament.
Much like the first game where the Lions exploded out to a 27-3 lead over the Dragons right away, Minneapolis did the same on Thursday as they scored the first 11 points of the game. However, unlike the first meeting, Halstead had an answer.
The Dragons went on an extended 13-3 run to pull within one at 14-13 midway through the period. It would be the closest Halstead would get all night as the Dragons would threaten but never take the lead.
Minneapolis led 17-13 at the end of the first and exploded for 18 points in the second quarter as Spencer Davidson scored double-digits in the half.
Meanwhile, the Minneapolis defense continued to struggle as Tyner Horn made three three’s in the half. Still, Minneapolis’ pressure defense got the Lions some easy looks on the offensive end.
Minneapolis took a 35-27 lead in to the locker room for halftime.
Minneapolis grabbed a double-digit lead right away in the third quarter as Halstead’s top scorer, Lakin Farmer, smacked his face on the floor and had to leave the game all quarter to get his head bandaged up.
Without Farmer’s offense, Halstead struggled to find open looks. While Minneapolis only scored 11 points in the period, Halstead was held below 10 and that led to a 46-34 lead for MHS going in to the final quarter–its largest of the game.
Even when Farmer returned for Halstead in the final quarter, it wasn’t enough, as Minneapolis held the Dragons to just 15 points in the second half. Each time Halstead would get the score to single digits, Minneapolis was able to extend it to back over 10 each time.
Halstead (2-8) has now lost six-straight on the year and will play in the seventh-place game against the No. 8-seed, Winfield on Saturday. Farmer and Horn led the way for Halstead with 15 and 10 points, each.
Minneapolis (8-3) continues to avoid back-to-back losses on the year as they followed up the blowout loss to Andale in the first round, with a 15 point win over Halstead in the second–its second over Halstead on the year.
Nolan White led Minneapolis for 16 points and Davidson scored 15.
The Lions will play in the fifth-place game game for the third year in-a-row at the Rupp Tournament, Saturday. And as the two times prior, Minneapolis faces the No. 5-seed of the tournament field, Rose Hill.
Tipoff between the Lions and Rockets is scheduled for approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and can be heard on Salina radio station, 92.7 The New Zoo.
