By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
WATERVILLE — Miah Fogarty couldn’t see the basket but he realized the situation. Grabbing the basketball out of the scrum, he turned as he jumped, spotting the rim, and took the shot.
His 3-pointer with three seconds to play forced overtime, and he scored the first three points of the extra session to spark Belle Plaine’s 66-59 upset of Waterville-Elysian-Morristown in the semifinals of the Section 2AA, North Subsection boys basketball tournament Thursday.
“I knew we were down three,” Fogarty said. “I knew the time was winding down, and I got it to go in.”
The fifth-seed Tigers (13-14) had played a close game with WEM in February, losing 57-55, so Fogarty said his team was confident.
“This victory is so sweet,” Fogarty said. “We struggled during the regular season, but we wanted to come out strong and get the win.”
The game was close the entire way. Belle Plaine had its biggest lead in the first half, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to go up 26-21 with 2:55 remaining. WEM led by three earlier in the half on Tyler Dillon’s three-point play.
Justin Potthast made four 3-pointers in the first seven minutes of the second half to go ahead 42-37. Fogarty’s 3-pointer at the 4-minute mark restored a five-point lead.
“Potthast is our 3-point shooter,” Belle Plaine coach Randy Carlson said. “If we go inside-out and get open looks, we’ll take them.”
Conrad Masberg had two free throws and a 3-pointer as WEM used a 10-2 run to go ahead 57-54, but Fogarty nailed the tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
“(WEM) is a very good team,” Fogarty said. “They pressure the ball constantly, and they’re offense is as good as their defense.”
In the overtime, Fogarty was 3 of 4 at the free-throw line, and the Tigers never trailed, running off the final six points in the broken court.
“When you beat a team that was undefeated and ranked No. 4 in the state, obviously it’s special,” Carlson said. “We did what we had to do.”
Potthast finished with 20 points, making 6 of 8 from 3-point range, and Fogarty scored 18 points, making 4 of 4 3-pointers. Charlie Kern scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Belle Plaine was 11 of 16 on 3-pointers to overcome 23 turnovers.
“When you play a team like (WEM), you have to attack,” Carlson said. “If you’re patient, you’re going to have a turnover.”
Tyler Dillon finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, and Masberg had 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Jordan Gregor collected 17 rebounds, and Grant Pope had eight points, six rebounds, six assists and four steals.
Belle Plaine takes on Jordan in the subsection finals at 6 p.m. Monday at Minnesota State’s Bresnan Arena. The Tigers lost twice to Jordan during the regular season, 68-46 and 69-44.
“Carlson will come up with something, and we’ll be ready by Monday,” Fogarty said.
