Scorching second half propels RRCC
Bentley Hylton caught fire in the second half Wednesday against Hibbing to help Rainy River take a giant leap toward the Voyageurs’ first state tournament bid under head coach Dieter Humbert.
Humbert, in his third year, watched his team fire blanks in the first half, but a hot second half proved decisive in a 95-90 win on Sophomore Appreciation Night.
“Good shooting cures all ills, and it certainly does,” Humbert said.
Hylton finished with a game-high 31 points, including 21 in the second half. He made seven 3-pointers — five in the second half — and added six rebounds and an emphatic block on Hibbing’s final 3-point attempt that could’ve tied the game.
“That’s probably the best play I did all year,” Hylton said with a big smile.
Antonio White chipped in with 24 points and 14 rebounds, Dylan Clarke-Knaeble tallied 16 points and 15 rebounds and Brandon Bell posted 15 points and six assists for the Voyageurs (12-13 overall, 8-5 division), which moved into a tie for third with Vermilion in the Northern Division of the MCAC.
Central Lakes and Northland have already qualified for next weekend’s state tournament in Minneapolis, but the final two spots will go to RRCC, Vermilion or Hibbing. With Wednesday’s win, RRCC is nearly a lock. The Voyageurs play Mesabi Range and Vermilion plays Hibbing today in the regular season finales for all three clubs. A win by RRCC will solidify a spot in the postseason. The worst-case scenario is if the Voyageurs lose and Hibbing defeats Vermilion, causing another 3-way tie. Then it gets sorted out with tiebreakers.
Aaron Norman led the Cardinals (15-11, 7-6) with 25 points, Phillip Freeman scored 18, Jay Cary added 13 and Falls High School graduate Josh Mastin finished with 12 points on 5 of 13 shooting. Mastin scored a game-high 26 points the last time these two teams met Jan. 27, which the Cardinals won 94-86. Mastin seemed shocked after the game after watching his team blow a 10-point lead in the first half.
“I don’t even know,” he said. “They were hot. Hot shooting.”
RRCC shot 36 percent in the first half — compared to Hibbing’s 49 percent mark — yet trailed only 46-42.
“We came out flat. We came out real flat and they had the momentum in the first half,” Hylton said.
The 4-point lead was disappointing for Mastin.
“We missed too many opportunities,” he said.
Hylton admitted they didn’t do anything special at halftime besides talk and get on the same page. It worked.
RRCC tied it at 50-50, took the lead at 55-52 — on a Hylton 3-pointer — and never trailed again, although it wasn’t easy down the stretch.
Norman cut the deficit to 91-90 with two free throws with 10 seconds remaining, but Bell answered with two clutch free throws on the other end and Hylton blocked Freeman’s 3-pointer from the top of the key with time winding down. Hylton was fouled with .1 on the clock and he sank the free throws.
“This year is more exciting,” Hylton said nearly a year after finishing 4-10 in the division his freshman season.
The Voyageurs were coming off two straight losses, including a 79-78 loss Saturday to Central Lakes.
“Tonight we hit the big shots,” Humbert said. “That’s what was really the difference tonight.”
