Beau Herrig and Carter Kirk were a two-man show for the Wolverines, until crunch time. That’s when their teammates from Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin started to get more involved.
Trailing by five in the second half, the Wolverines used a 16-1 run during a six-minute span in the second half to advance to the semifinals. This the Wolverines’ first appearance in the state tournament since Mountain Lake went in 1952.
“We had to start making them defend every player,” Herrig said. The Wolverines had four of their five starters score during the deciding run. “We couldn’t keep having them just trying to stop one or two of us.”
The Wolverines (25-5) trailed 52-47 with 10 minutes, 24 seconds remaining. Two minutes later, Kirk’s layup gave the Section 2 champions a 53-52 lead. Two free throws by senior guard Cody Penner made it 63-53 with 4:07 left.
Herrig had a game-high 30 points and 15 rebounds while Kirk finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Penner wound up with 15 points.
“We were able to keep our composure [when we were down five],” Herrig said. “We also played good team defense.”
Browerville (27-3) was led by senior center Seth Christensen, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
-- Ron Haggstrom, Star Tribune
Beau Herrig, Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin
Play in the paint was the theme of this game an Herrig did not disappoint. His 30 points and 15 rebounds led all players in this game. Playing against the Tigers Christensen this year was not an easy task but MLBO took care of business.