A made shot with less than ten seconds gave the Luverne Cardinals a 44-42 win over the Baltic Bulldog boys basketball team at the Hometown Basketball Classic in Madison on Saturday, January 3rd. The Bulldogs were playing in their second game in less than 12 hours and battled from behind for most of the game.
After an early 4-4 tie, Luverne went on an 8-2 run for an 12-6 with 2:30 to play in the opening quarter. They ended the first quarter with a 14-10 lead. The Cardinals extended their lead to 20-12 with 4:30 to play in the second quarter. The first half ended with Luverne leading 26-17.
The Bulldogs battled back throughout the second half. Baltic was able to cut the lead down to five points to 35-30 by the end of the third quarter. They got within two points, 42-40, with a minute to go in the game. A basket along the baseline tied the game, 42-42, with :33 to play. Luverne, however, made a shot from the left block with :07 to go to go back in front 44-42. A last-second shot to tie the game fell away no good for the Bulldogs.
Baltic shot 42% (18-43) from the field in the game, but went just 1-12 from three-point area and 5-9 from the free-throw line. Luverne finished the game shooting 34% (18-53) overall, 19% (3-16) on three-point shots, and 5-10 from the free-throw line.
Kellen Artz had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Dylan Runestad finished with 10 points and two rebounds. Cooper Garry had seven points. Ben Erickson added six points, four rebounds, and three steals. Trevor Cuperus had four points with seven rebounds.
