Stewartville,
La Crescent have never been there
By Guy N. Limbeck
glimbeck@postbulletin.com
Either Stewartville or La Crescent will make a first in school history when the two teams meet in boys basketball on Tuesday.
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The two Hiawatha Valley League rivals will meet in the Section One, Class AA championship game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Mayo Civic Center. Neither school has ever advanced to the state tournament in boys basketball.
La Crescent enters 27-1, its only loss coming to Stewartville in overtime. The two teams split a pair of games this season.
"Our matchups with them are pretty good," Stewartville coach Tony Tuseth said.
Both teams have good size inside with 6-foot-6 centers and a 6-4 forward. The Lancers are a higher scoring team with a bit more firepower. But the Tigers have a strong duo in junior forward Tom Gisler and senior center Steve Nosbisch. Both players average about 16 points a game.
"I hope the shots drop for us and we have to play good defense," Gisler said.
The Tigers take a 22-6 mark into the contest.
"They know what we’re trying to do and we know what they’re trying to do," La Crescent coach Craig Kowal said. "But it will be a real dogfight."
Senior Ian Anderson, a 6-1 forward, leads the Lancers in scoring at about 21 points a game.
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"It’s going to be a good matchup," Kowal said. "We’re going to have to play tough defense."
Tuseth said when Stewartville beat the Lancers earlier this season it played man-to-man defense the entire game. He was not sure what approach to take for Tuesday’s all-important rubber match.
"I’ll have to think about it," he said.
Page D4:Game story, summary.
