Mathern powers E/K-M to 41-38 R3 championship win over Linton/HMB

Feb. 24—JAMESTOWN — The old adage that big-time players show up in big games was proven true by Edgeley/Kulm-Montpelier's Mataeya Mathern as she dropped 30 points in a 41-38 win over the Linton/Hazleton-Moffit-Braddock Lions in the Region 3 championship game on Friday, Feb. 24, at the Jamestown Civic Center.

"It's beyond anything I could dream, it's the best feeling in the world," Mathern said. "They don't lie when they say that, this is the best thing in the world."

Mathern put the game away with two free throws in the dying seconds to give her team their first trip to the state tournament since 2017. Before the game, Rebels head coach Rory Entzi said he went into his locker room with the goal of forcing his team to get rid of their nervousness and loosen up.

"It was funny, one of my assistants said, 'coach I think you need to make them smile', really," Entzi said. "My motto is pretty simple, I'm a pretty old school guy, we talked about it this year, it's mostly work hard and have fun. But, I went in with seven minutes left, gave them the matchups and just said, 'girls I love it when you smile', and I walked out the door. That was it."

The top-seeded Rebels (19-5) and the No. 3-seeded Lions (14-10) traded the lead back and forth in the early going as the Lions took a 12-10 lead into the second quarter. After the teams traded runs in the second quarter as the Lions took the largest lead for either team late in the quarter at 25-17. The Rebels responded when Mathern knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 25-22.

The third quarter was another tight one as the Lions' Allie Dockter split the pair at the line to push her team in front 29-28 with 2:12 to go in the third before Mathern hit another three, one of five that the junior hit in the game, to push her team in front 31-29 with 1:45 to go in the third.

The Rebels took the lead on a Libby Mathern layup to go up 39-38 with 1:09 to go in the game. That was part of a nine-point performance from the younger Mathern cousin. The other Rebels point was scored by Grace Irey. After the Mathern free throws, both teams were out of timeouts and the Lions drove down the floor and had a three fall short at the buzzer.

"We were trying to get a shallow drive and a kick and have our shooters spread out," Lions head coach Michael Schirado said. "We knew they were going to have to guard the three-point line but we do a nice job of getting in the lane. We wanted Allie (Dockter) to get in that lane and draw two and kick for a three. They made a great closeout and blocked an attempt and that's how she goes."

This was not Entzi's first trip to the state tournament as he previously made it in 1994 as the head coach of the Hettinger High School boys' basketball team. He said the fact that he hasn't been back since going back-to-back years has taught him it isn't as easy as it appeared.

"When you do it your second year, you think, 'hey this isn't that hard', and then you forget in high school you need kids to buy in and you need a good group of kids," Entzi said. "So, when it doesn't happen and you lose on semifinal night, you sometimes start wondering is this ever going to happen again?"

The Rebels will return to the floor at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 2, when they take on No. 1-seeded Thompson.

E/K-M 41, L/HMB 38

E/K-M: 10 12 9 10 — 41

L/HMB: 12 13 4 9 — 38

Points leaders:

E/K-M: Mataeya Mathern 30, Libby Mathern 9, Grace Irey 2

L/HMB: Emma Weiser 13, Kaylee Weninger 10, Allie Dockter 7

Assists leaders:

E/K-M: L. Mathern 3, Reagan Teske 3, Kiara Jangula 2, Norah Entzi 1

L/HMB: Dockter 2, Schick 1, Makiah Ryckman 1

Leading rebounders:

E/K-M: Entzi 6, Mathern 6, Irey 5, Jangula 3

L/HMB: Weiser 12, Dockter 5, Vogel 5, Weninger 5, Schick 3

Full Awards Below:

Region 3 Athletic Director of the Year: Chad Berger, Napoleon

Region 3 Coach of the Year: Dan Welder, Kidder County

Region 3 Senior Athlete of the Year: Kennedy Harter, Kidder County

Full bracket below:

First Round:

D6-No. 1 Kidder County 48 vs. D5-No. 4 Oakes 31

D6-No. 3 Linton/HMB 50 vs. D5-No. 2 LaMoure/Litchville-Marion 37

D5-No. 1 E/K-M 56 vs. D6-No. 4 M/P-B 23

D5- No. 3 Carrington 62 vs. D6-No. 2 N/G-S 45

Semifinals:

D6-No. 3 Linton/HMB 47 vs. D6- No. 1 Kidder County 36

D5-No. 1 E/K-M 55 vs. D5-No. 3 Carrington 49

Third-place game:

D5-No. 3 Carrington 50 vs. D6-No. 1 Kidder County 50

Championship game:

D5-No. 1 E/K-M 41 vs. D6-No. 3 Linton/HMB 38