Tuesday, March 05, 2002

Hayfield defeated Kasson-Mantorville 65-51 in the first round of Sub-section 2AA East boys’ basketball action Saturday night in Hayfield.

The Vikings, the third-seed, will now play No. 2 seed United South Central Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Waseca.

Hayfield (12-12) advanced by beating Kasson-Mantorville for the third time this season, including back-to-back defeats to end the KoMets’ year. Hayfield finished the regular season with a 62-46 home victory over K-M Feb. 26, and treated the KoMets (4-19) again Saturday night in the first round of postseason play.

USC (12-11) defeated Triton 60-43 to advance into the sub-section semifinals. Top-seed Waterville-Elysian-Morristown toppled Montgomery-Lonsdale 94-57, and Belle Plaine beat NRHEG 56-51 to set up the other semifinal, which will be played Thursday at 6 p.m. also in Waseca.

Hayfield shot 17-37 from the field, including 7-13 from three-point range, while making 24-36 free-throws. The Vikings were 16-24 from the line in the fourth quarter alone.

Senior Tyler Kramer led Hayfield with 21 points and seven assists. Freshman David Johnson scored 13 points and a co-team-leading eight rebounds. Mark Oelkers contributed 10 points and eight rebounds as Hayfield held a 31-18 advantage on the glass.

Jared Skogen led K-M with 12 points, and Ryan Collins added 11. Komets leading scorer Robbie Deming, who averaged 16.5 points in two earlier meetings with Hayfield, was limited to 10.