Boys Basketball: Bombers win HVL showdown

CANNON FALLS — Cedric Dicke never stopped working for the Cannon Falls boys basketball team even as Lake City continued throwing multiple defenders at him Friday.

Dicke outmuscled the Tigers in the second half and with a team-leading 20 points and nine rebounds he led the Bombers (7-3, 1-0 HVL Blue) back from a seven point halftime deficit to a 58-51 victory.

“He’s a fantastic player,” Lake City head coach Shawn Sweeney said. “I thought we did a nice job containing him. Give him credit but their team is more than that.”

Dicke, a senior, came into the game against the Tigers (7-4, 1-1 HVL Blue) averaging more than 20 points per game with the next closest Bomber averaging eight points per game. But Friday night, Cannon Falls got production throughout the lineup. The Bombers had eight players score.

Junior Tanner Jackson scored 12 points on 3 of 9 3-pointers and had three steals. Sophomore Jordan Lundell scored nine points and had five assists, hitting a 3-pointer late in the game that gave the Bombers their first lead of the second half. Junior Noah Callister grabbed six rebounds and had three steals.

“They made the shots when they had to,” Dicke said. “That’s what we need from them.”

Lake City junior Ben Schramski started the game with a hot hand and scored 20 points to lead the Tigers. He also had four rebounds and three steals. Senior Zach Hinrichs added 12 points and five rebounds. Junior Jake Griebenow tallied 10 points and junior Coleman Sweeney had nine assists, four rebounds, three steals and four points in the loss.

Lake City jumped to a 10-2 lead early in the first half, hitting long jump shots as the Bombers attempted to slow Hinrichs in the post.

“We kind of set up to sag in the lane,” Cannon Falls head coach Josh Davisson said.

The Tigers made 5 of 8 3-pointers in the opening half and Schramski paced the Tigers’ quick start, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points before halftime. Lake City’s biggest lead was 33-21 with 1 minute, 26 seconds left in the opening half but the Tigers took a 33-27 lead into the break. They could have led 33-25 if not for a loose-ball foul with .8 seconds left on the clock and the Bombers in the bonus. Cannon Falls made both free throws and took needed momentum into the second half.

“The end of the half free throws were big for us,” Davisson said.

The stellar shooting that gave Lake City the early lead disappeared in the second half but the Tigers didn’t stop shooting from long range.

The Tigers made three 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the game finished 6 of 17 for the game. Instead of getting the ball inside, Lake City settled for jump shots in the second half.

“That’s the best we’ve shot from ‘3,’ early,” Shawn Sweeney said. “We had better offensive patience in the first half.”

The Bombers took their first lead of the game at 49-46 with 4:18 remaining in the game and never trailed after that.

Cannon Falls went to the foul line frequently in the second half, getting multiple Lake City players in foul trouble. Coleman Sweeney and senior Luke Bremer fouled out for Lake City as Cannon Falls made 17 of 29 free throws in the game, 13 of 23 in the second half. The Bombers held a wide foul disparity, 14-3, in the second half.

“In the second half, they were able to get the ball inside more,” Shawn Sweeney said. “We have to be resilient and bounce back.”

Davisson said the victory will give his team confidence to know they can recover from an early deficit against a top team. Dicke called it a statement victory for the Bombers.

“Everyone said they were the best team in the HVL Blue,” Dicke said. “We wanted to say that we’re right there too.”

Both teams play again Tuesday with Cannon Falls traveling to Goodhue and Lake City hosting Triton.

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