In a season that has seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the Valley City Hi-Liners would have to rally in overtime against the Thompson Tommies to advance to the Class A State Tournament at the Fargo Dome.
The first quarter would be a mutual feeling-out process between the two sides. The Tommies would ride the hot hands of Karter Peterson and Gavin Krogstad, who combined for ten of the Tommies’ 12 first-quarter points. The Hi-Liners would respond in kind with Zack Sykora and Talon Larson, who carried the early scoring load for Valley City. After the dust settled in the first quarter, Thompson was clinging to the early 12-11 lead.
The second quarter would unfold much like the second quarter from Valley City’s Thursday win against the Central Cass Squirrels as both the Hi-Liners offense and defense combined for a dominant performance. Offensively, the Hi-Liners would splash home three three-pointers, with Carson Eggert, Carver Pederson, and Sykora all contributing to outside barrage. The Tommies were inefficient from the floor as they endured several lengthy scoring droughts and only managed to piece together 12 points in the quarter. Zach Sykora would lead all scorers at the break with 11 as the Hi-Liners held a 31-24 lead going into the break.
The Tommies would erupt from the halftime break, going on a 12-6 run as they managed to cut the Hi-Liner lead down to one possession midway through the third quarter. Valley City would lock down defensively the rest of the way, holding the Tommies to only two points for the rest of the quarter. The Hi-Liners would use a balanced approach to match Thompson as five different Hi-Liners tallied a score in the quarter. The Hi-Liners would head to the fourth quarter only eight minutes from the state tournament, leading 45-38.
The fourth quarter however, would belong to Thompson’s Karter Peterson erupting for 14 points, as he dragged his team back from the brink. A slow offensive start for the Hi-Liners left the door open for Thompson who eventually would kick the door in and snatch a late lead. Trailing 59-57 with under 30 seconds to play, the Hi-Liners would place their season into the hands of senior Carson Eggert, who would hit a contested floater with under five seconds to tie the game at 59-59. A late three-point attempt by the Tommies would come up short, as overtime would be needed to determine the final spot in the state tournament.
After back-to-back quarters of allowing Thompson to set the tone, Valley City would snatch the momentum for themselves as Eggert diced up the Thompson defense to give the Hi-Liners some much-needed breathing room. After struggling with foul shooting in regulation, going only 8-15 from the stripe, Eggert, Sykora, and Larson would combine to go 14-17 in overtime to salt the game away for Valley City as they outscored Thompson 18-10 in overtime to claim the 77-69 win and the last spot in the Class A State Basketball Tournament.
The leading scorers for Valley City were Zach Sykora (28) and Carson Eggert (22), with Jack Dieterle dropping eight points off the bench. Thompson’s Karter Pederson finished with 31. The entirety of the Valley City state tournament run can be heard on 1490AM/96.3FM KOVC.
Ivy Real Estate Players of the Game: Carson Eggert and Zach Sykora