Boys Basketball Class A Semifinal: Hayfield cruises past Badger/Greenbush-Middle River

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The Hayfield Vikings defeated the Badger/Greenbush-Middle River Gators 79-53, Wednesday afternoon at the Target Center, to advance to the State Championship.

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Hayfield (20-4) utilized 19 points off turnovers in the first half to go up on Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 38-26 at the break. The Vikings had 12 steals to the Gators three.

Back-to-back three-pointers from Badger/Greenbush-Middle River junior guard Aven Augustson cut the Hayfield lead to 24-21 at 4:18 in the first half, but Hayfield extended again from there. A steal and a quick layup from Hayfield junior forward Easton Fritcher accounted for the 12-point difference at halftime.

In the first seven minutes of the second half, Hayfield outscored Badger/Greenbush-Middle River 20-12. The Vikings went on to win 79-53.

Hayfield scored 10 points off second-chance plays and 14 in the paint in the second half. The Vikings also shot 61.9 percent from the field to the Gators’ 32.1 percent.

Senior guard Ethan Slaathaug netted 23 points for Hayfield and sophomore guard added 22. Fitcher grabbed 15 rebounds for the Vikings. Badger/Greenbush-Middle River’s top three scorers were junior forward Kobey Dallager (14), senior forward Adam Benke (13), and senior forward Aaron Westling (12).

Hayfield will face Hancock in the Class A title game on Saturday at 1 p.m.