The first half of Tuesday night’s boys basketball Section 5 opener between the #5 seed Bulldogs and the #4 seed Monticello Magic had just about everything a hoops fan would enjoy.  NBA range three-pointers, fast break layups, hot shooting from a number of players and a bank-shot, 35 foot buzzer-beater were all featured in the electric first 18 minutes of play.  And the game only became more exciting from there, as the two teams went to double overtime before Becker claimed the 108-98 victory.  Just 12 days earlier, Becker had lost to the Magic 67-82 in the Bulldogs’ final home game.

In the playoff opener, the Magic won the opening tip and went up 2-0 before Becker’s Nathan Weiss hit his first of four first-half NBA range three pointers to put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2.   Kyan Blomquist and Landon Peterson followed with three-pointers for Becker, as the Bulldogs received baskets from four different players to open the game (Mitch Soltau’s two-pointer included).

Becker continued to slowly build the lead over the next 12 minutes and with the Bulldogs leading 40-31 in the waning seconds before intermission, Josh Groskreutz took an outlet pass and heaved a 35 foot shot that touched the front of the rim twice and a double-bank off the glass for a buzzer-beating three-pointer and a 43-31 halftime lead.

The Magic didn’t roll-over, however, scoring the first two baskets of the second half before a Blomquist layup and a quick Coach Cory Nuest timeout stemmed the tide.

Weiss then hit three-point numbers five and six, again from deep beyond the arc, on consecutive trips down the court to gather momentum for the Bulldogs and push the lead to 53-39.

The Magic again answered, this time with a 7-0 run, leading to another Nuest timeout with 14:08 in the game.

The next six minutes saw the Magic continue to cut away at the deficit, with Bulldog highlights including a Soltau coast to coast layup and a Connor Gass blocked shot.  

The Magic stayed on the attack, eventually tying the score at 67 with 8:17 left in the second half.

Becker went on a mini-run of their own to led by as many as five before Monticello again tied the score at 77.

Blomquist then scored five straight and had a big steal on the defensive end to give Becker another five point lead, but the Magic came back with a three-point play and a bucket for another tie, 82-82.

Monticello went up 86-83 with less than 10 seconds remaining before Soltau took a 3-pointer at the regulation buzzer that hit the front of the rim, and then the backboard before finally going through the net for an 86-86 tie and the game was headed to OT.

Four minutes later, the game was again tied, 96-96 and the teams were headed to double-OT.

In the second bonus stanza, Landon Peterson came alive and hit a pair of corner baseline three-pointers to put a dagger into the Magic.

An exhilarated Coach Nuest was ecstatic with his team’s performance after the upset, playoff victory.

“The credit goes to the boys, as we talked about competing versus playing and how that is a different mindset,” Nuest said after the game.  “I’m proud of the way we competed and stayed composed and connected through the ups and downs of the game.  And a big thanks to the fans who came to cheer us on.”

With the win, Becker advanced to face top-seed Totino-Grace in a Friday night matchup.  Check next week’s Patriot for all the exciting details.