Christ's Household of Faith's Preston Alleman, left, and Henning's Isaac Fisher battled for the ball in the first half of the Class 1A quarterfinal Thursday at Williams Arena. Photo: ELIZABETH FLORES • liz.flores@startribune.com
Henning and Christ’s Household of Faith felt the sting of missing free throws under pressure.
Henning senior guard Sam Fisher was the key exception. He made seven of his eight free throw attempts in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds, propelling No. 7-ranked Henning to a 63-56 victory over the Lions in the Class 1A quarterfinals Thursday at Williams Arena.
The Hornets (29-1) are making their first state tournament appearance since 1966.
“There was a lot of pressure,” said Fisher, who finished with a game-high 20 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor, and six assists. “I had to calm myself down, make it like nobody was watching.”
He made four consecutive free throws two seconds apart to turn a 56-54 lead to a six-point cushion with 24 seconds left. His teammates went through a 4-for-9 stretch, which included missing the front end of 1-and-1, from the free-throw line in the previous four minutes.
Free throw shooting under pressure has become a lost art. Henning and Christ’s Household of Faith will both attest to it.
Henning's Sam Fisher is an exception. The senior guard made seven of his eight free throws in the final 2 minutes, 10 seconds, propelling No. 7-ranked Henning to a 63-56 victory over the Lions in the Class 1A quarterfinals Thursday at Williams Arena.
Henning (29-1) is making its first state tournament appearance since 1966.
Fisher finished with a game-high 20 points and six assists.
The Lions (23-6) were led by senior forward McCaleb Alleman’s 16 points.
Check back later for more on the game.