With the Harrison Holiday Tournament cancelled after Hay Springs dropped out, Sioux County and Morrill met in a head-to-head battle Monday.

The Morrill boys rolled to an easy victory over the Warriors, winning the contest 62-17, and earning Head Coach Terry Lofink his 200th career victory.

The Lions had the game well in hand from the beginning, putting up 22 in the first quarter and allowing a single field goal by Sioux County’s Sam Skavdahl. Skavdahl added another two in the second, and a trey by Ritchie Gutierrez and a free throw by Shane Gluth completed the first half scoring for the Warriors.

Morrill, however, added another 21 to the board to lead 43-8 at half-time. When the break ended, the Lions continued the action, shutting out Sioux County in a 17-0 run.

Sioux County finally outscored the Lions during the fourth, adding nine points by Tucker Monroe, Will Skavdahl and Mike Sanderson.

Sioux County     2            6            0            9            -17

Morrill                22          21          17          2            -62

Sioux County Scoring: Monroe, 4; W. Skavdahl, 1; Gutierrez, 3; Gluth, 1; Sanderson, 4; S. Skavdahl, 4

Warriors, Lions battle to the end

The Morrill Lions won a back-and-forth affair in the final seconds of their contest against the Sioux County Warriors Monday, taking the 46-44 win.

The game was knotted up 11 times, and the teams continually traded the lead. Sioux County led by as much as six points at one point in the third, but Morrill never led by more than three. Most of the game was spent with each team taking their turn at the lead by a slim two or three points.

Sioux County had planned to host a holiday tournament Monday and Tuesday, but when Hay Springs dropped out, the tourney was cancelled and Morrill and Sioux County chose to play head-to-head instead.

The Lions and Warriors started as they ended, tying the score six times in the opening half. The Warriors won the battle and closed out the first quarter ahead by one, and the Lions won the second quarter with a go-ahead bucket with less than a minute remaining. Back-to-back treys by Karlee Juhnke and Kodie Rempp switched the lead back to Sioux County, and a field goal by Beth Krein gave the Warriors a 27-21 lead half-way through the third. Morrill turned things around again with a 9-1 run over the next two and a half minutes for a 30-27 advantage. The Warriors fought back and tied the contest at 30, but the Lions scored a quick bucket before the period ended to make it 32-30.

It took less than 15 seconds for Sioux County to tie the game at 32 when the final quarter began, only to see Morrill go ahead 36-35 two minutes later. A trey by Rempp put Sioux County back on top 38-36, but a free throw and a field goal gave the edge back to the Lions. Two free throws by Britney Klein changed the lead again, with Sioux County leading 40-39 with three and half minutes remaining. Morrill tied the contest a few seconds later at 40 and then went ahead 42-40. With 1:14 on the clock, Sioux County’s Kailey Klein and Juhnke hit consecutive field goals for a Warrior lead, 44-43.

Morrill clinched the win in the final seconds as Sioux County sent the Lions to the charity stripe and then turned the ball over as they raced to attempt a buzzer-beater.

Sioux County     11          8            11          14          -44

Morrill                10          11          11          14          -46

Sioux Co Stats: Juhnke, 10 pts, 4 reb, 1 asst; K. Klein, 6 pts, 4 reb, 2 steals, 2 assts; Rachel Krein, 6 pts, 3 reb, 2 steals; Rempp, 11 pts, 8 reb, 1 steal, 2 assts; B. Krein, 4 pts, 8 reb, 1 block, 1 steal, 1 asst; B. Klein, 7 pts, 2 reb, 2 assts