By JEREMY McGUIRE
HaysPost

TMP 55, Minneapolis 52

It took over 30 minutes for the TMP Monarchs to take the lead against Minneapolis, a lead they would not relinquish on their way to a 55 to 52 win over Minneapolis.  Trailing since early in the first quarter, TMP had to play catch up all night long in their semi-final bout with the Lions.  The Monarchs trailed by seven at halftime and things looked to be going South for them as Minneapolis grabbed a 13 point lead midway through the third quarter at 44 to 31.

TMP would close the quarter on a four to nothing run and the comeback was on.  With Minneapolis leading 46-40, head coach Eric Shupe was called for a technical foul and Jared Vitztum would hit both free throws.  On the ensuing possession Jordan Gottschalk completed an old fashioned three point play to pull the Monarchs within one point.  It took Minneapolis a couple of possessions to knock down a couple of free throws and regain a three point advantage.

TMP would string three free throws together to tie the game at 48 and Vitztum would come up with the biggest shot of his young career when he buried a three-pointer from the right wing and TMP took a 51-48 lead.  Vitztum finished with 13 points as did Peyton Hoffman. The two teams would trade a few more points over the last minute but TMP pulled off the upset and move on to Saturday’s sub-state championship game against Beloit who squeaked out a 72-71 overtime win over Lyons.  Saturday’s game is set to tip around 7:30pm.

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Game Highlights