The playoff road was a short one for Travis Hensch and his high-scoring Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines Thursday as they fell to Hawley 84-75 in the first round of West Section 8AA playoffs.
While Hensch saw his team capitalize on 19 Hawley turnovers to put up 70 or more points for the 13th time in 25 games, he also saw them give up 70 or more points for the 13th time. The Wolverines turned the ball over 21 times.
"We came out hot, hitting six of our first eight shots," Hensch said. "The problem was that we struggled taking care of the rock."
The No. 5 Wolverines shot 47 percent from the field, hitting on 29 of 62 floor shots, and drained six treys. Donny Tabery wrapped up his prep career with a double-double as he added 14 rebounds to his team-high 25 points. Tabery was joined in double figures by fellow senior Cole Lugert, who netted 14 points.
"These two seniors really stepped up and played great," Hensch said. "Donny was very good about letting the game come to him and Cole was great attacking the back side of the 1-3-1 half court trap."
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The Nuggets shot 59 percent from the field, hit on eight three-pointers and got a huge game from Taylor Harms, who sparked his club with a 27-point night. Jacob Bjornson stung the Wolverines with 17 tallies while Joran Clute and Beau Sorenson canned 14 apiece.
The Wolverines held a 32-23 edge on the boards.
Hensch saw his team wrap up the season with a 14-11 record, the best overall mark by a WDC team since the 1998-99 season when the Wolverines won 19 of 24 games. The Wolverines were fourth in the Mid-State with a 5-5 record and swept their regular season series with Crosby-Ironton.
WDC (75)
S. Syverson 9, R. Nelson 5, D. Tabery 25, I. Doll 7, C. Lugert 14, K. Tumberg 9, J. Reed 6. Totals: 23/6 11-15 75
HAWLEY (84)
A. Schenck 2, B. Sorenson 14, J. Clute 14, J. Bjornson 17, T. Harms 27, J. Morrison 6, K. Olson 4. Totals: 24/8 12-20 84
WDC 37 38 - 75
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Hawley 40 44 - 84
