Jim Warmack is the most prolific scorer in East Grand Forks Senior High boys high school basketball history.
As the Green Wave head into the Minnesota Section 8AA playoffs, however, Senior High has been a team that hasn’t been reliant on big nights by the school’s career scoring leader.
Senior High, seeded second in the north subsection, hosts Bagley at 7 p.m. Thursday in a subsection quarterfinal game.
“We’re at our best when we’re balanced and have three-four guys scoring in double figures,’’ Senior High coach Travis Lindgren said. “When a number of guys are contributing, it’s tough to defend us. And, more often than not, we’ve been getting those three-four guys scoring in double figures.’’
Senior High, 16-9, is led by Warmack, a 6-foot-6 senior who averages a double double with 19.2 points and 10 rebounds. Also scoring consistently have been Ty Misialek (16 ppg, 5.6 apg, 49 treys), Grant Frydenlund (10 ppg, 3 apg, 55 treys) and Ben Bjornson (9 ppg).
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Warmack is expected to be ready after missing Senior High’s last game due to an ankle injury.
“We certainly like it when Jim can take over a game,’’ Lindgren said. “He’s more than capable of doing it. But that’s not the only way it has to go for us to do well.’’
Senior High is seeded second in the North Subsection behind Crosby-Ironton, with Perham getting the top seed in the South Subsection.
Lindgren said it is a wide-open tournament.
“I think there are six or seven teams in the section that could come out of there and it wouldn’t be a surprise,’’ Lindgren said. “I think we’re one of those teams.
“It’s more wide open that it has been the last few years, when there were two or three teams that you expected would win it.’’
Eagles get momentum
East Grand Forks Sacred Heart is 5-18 and the No. nine seed in the West Subsection going into the Section 8A boys basketball tournament. Sacred Heart does go into the tournament with some momentum, however, having won two of its last three games.
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“The kids have been putting it together,’’ Sacred Heart coach Sarah Hart said. “We have 10 seniors. They don’t want to see the season end quickly.
“With a few exceptions, we felt like we were in almost every game.’’
Sacred Heart has had only two consistent scorers. Michael Burd averages 15.7 points and Riley Hallaway averages 15.4. No other Eagle averages as many as seven points a game. In two games this season, Burd and Hallaway accounted for all of Sacred Heart’s points.
“Our first look is always to Riley inside, and that’s a correct move,’’ Hart said. “But the kids have to look for their own shots, too. And that’s been happening more lately. It’s difficult to win if you don’t have some balance in your scoring.’’
Sacred Heart plays at No. 8 seed Red Lake County in a 7 p.m. play-in game Tuesday in Plummer. The winner advances to the subsection quarterfinals and a 6 p.m. game against top seed Northern Freeze on Thursday in Thief River Falls.
