Somerset, Central boys win WIAA regional basketball openers

• Tyler Ledbeter

Somerset point guard Tyler Ledbeter brings the ball up against pressure in Tuesday's win at Amery.

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The Somerset and St. Croix Central boys made it through their opening Division 3 regional games in the WIAA basketball tournaments on Tuesday night.

Somerset went to Amery on Tuesday and knocked off the Warriors 58-47. Somerset’s next assignment is facing top-seeded Unity on the Eagles’ home court. That game will be played at 7 p.m. on Friday.

St. Croix Central boys scored a 54-46 homecourt win over St. Croix Falls on Tuesday. The Panthers will play this Friday at 7 p.m. at Osceola in the second round of Division 3 regionals.

Somerset

The Spartans fell behind Amery 10-3 in the opening minutes on Tuesday. It looked like Amery might pull away for its third win this season over the Spartans. That was until the Spartans went on an 11-0 run late in the second quarter. A shot at the buzzer by Jacob Green gave the Spartans a 25-23 lead at halftime.

After Amery scored the first hoop of the second half, the Spartans went on another run. This time they ran off 13 straight points. Amery didn’t give up, cutting the margin to three points with 3:40 left in the game. The Spartans maintained their poise and finished off the win.

Freshman Gaelin Elmore led the Spartans with 16 points and junior Danny Sheridan scored nine points.

St. Croix Central

The Panthers also needed a strong second half to pull out their victory over the Saints.

The Saints led 24-22 at halftime. The Panthers held a 15-9 scoring edge in the third quarter, when they took control of the game.

The Panthers had an excellent inside-outside offensive balance in the game. Senior guard Kyle Cress scored a game-high 23 points, with senior center Brad Walen ending with 17 points.

The win was the second in three games for the Panthers, after ending their 11-game losing streak.

Tags: boys basketball, sports, prep