Cardinals compete hard, but fall at state

Although Cromwell-Wright didn't get the outcome it had hoped for at last week's Minnesota Boys Basketball Tournament, the team certainly proved it belonged on the big stage.

The Cardinals opened play in the Class A quarterfinals Thursday afternoon at Williams Arena in Minneapolis against No. 2 seed Ada-Borup Cougars. The game started the way the Cardinals hoped, as they jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead behind two quick buckets from senior Cameron Cahoon. The Cougars answered right back and tied the score at 9-9.

The rest of the first half saw the two teams trade leads with Ada-Borup, taking a 22-21 point lead at halftime.

"I thought we did a good job in the first half of getting good looks and controlling their big man inside" said Cardinals head coach Bill Pocernich. "Every team here deserved to be here. With us playing dead-even with the second-seeded Cougars, I think we showed we belonged."

The second half opened much like the first, with Cromwell-Wright jumping out to a 29-22 lead after Micah Pocernich connected on two three-pointers and his brother, Marcus, scored the first bucket of the second half.

"We started fast once again in the second half and had the early lead, but the Cougars found a way to get Miller more involved and then went on a run where we couldn't buy a basket," coach Pocernich said, referring to the Cougars' 6'8" post Mason Miller. "It made it tough on us."

While Miller got shut down defensively in the first half by the Cardinals, he took control inside during the second half, when he scored 14 of his game-high 17 points.

The seesaw continued.

A 12-2 run by the Cougars gave them a three-point lead at 34-31, but Jaden Gronner's three-pointer tied the score at 34-34 with 9:28 to play in the second half.

Then Ada-Borup went on a huge 13-0 run, which gave the Cougars a 13-point lead at 47-34.

It would be almost eight minutes before the Cardinals scored again, on two free throws by Marcus Pocernich. It was more than 8 minutes before Cromwell-Wright scored from the field again, on a 3-pointer from Micah Pocernich with 1:10 remaining in the contest.

That was too little, too late as the

Cardinals fell 49-39.

"That stretch where we couldn't score was the difference in the game,'" said senior Marcus Pocernich. "We had chances, but we couldn't hit the shots when we needed them."

The Cardinals shot only 28 percent from the field. Their 39 points scored was 24 points below their season average. Cahoon and Marcus Pocernich led the Cardinals with 10 points each in the loss.

Consolation semifinal

The loss moved the Cardinals into the consolation round of the Class A tournament and a match-up with another unseeded opponent, Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

Cromwell-Wright improved its shooting - connecting on 34 percent from the floor.

Cromwell-Wright scored the game's first basket as Cahoon scored on a layup. It would be the Cardinals' only lead of the game.

Shooting well from the floor, the Chargers posted a 15-point lead at 32-17 late in the first half. Then the Cardinals went on a 14-4 run over the last few minutes to cut the margin to 36-29 at halftime.

The Cardinals charged into the second half as Gronner connected on a 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Micah Pocernich to cut the lead to four points.

But Cromwell-Wright could get no closer, bedeviled by the hot shooting of Chargers Ethan Mischke, who scored 25 points with seven 3-pointers, and solid defense, which gave the Chargers a 70-57 win and advanced them to the consolation championship.

Junior Micah Pocernich said it was an amazing time.

"We are all so close and such good friends, it's hard to see the season come to an end," he said. "But we reached our goals and this will be something I will remember forever."

Micah Pocernich led the Cardinals with 20 points in the loss to the Chargers, while his brother, Marcus Pocernich, added 14. Isaac Shelton scored 10 points in the loss.

The Cardinals finished their season with a 25-5 record.