ESKO — The student section roared in celebration as Pequot Lakes’ Harrison Kennen raised both middle fingers to Esko’s crowd in the final moments of regulation.
The senior forward received a technical foul just moments earlier for shouting profanities at Esko’s players and, ostensibly, wanted to get his money’s worth.
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Esko and Pequot Lakes had just played 35-plus minutes of physical, back-and-forth basketball, and the Tuesday, Feb. 4 game had already been decided, as Esko led 56-50 when the scuffle began with seven seconds left.
“The game was super physical, and that leads to a bit more of it,” Pequot Lakes head coach Rich Spiczka said. “It’s a tough environment, but we have to handle it better. We have to be mentally tougher than that and do the right thing and handle it well.”
Despite Pequot Lakes unraveling in the closing seconds, the Patriots were in the game until the final minute. They trailed by just two, 52-50, with 55 seconds to play, but Esko had possession and turned to senior guard Sam Haugen for some late-game magic.
With the shot clock winding down and the crowd chanting to let him know exactly how many seconds were left, Haugen launched and buried a jumper from several feet behind the arc at the top of the key. It gave Esko a five-point lead and essentially iced the game.
“We were running the clock down because we had the lead,” Haugen said. “I heard the shot clock going down and the student section was yelling, ‘Five, four…’ I got the ball and I had confidence in my shot the whole game, so I just let it fly.”
Haugen finished with a game-high 21 points, nearly half of which came in the opening six minutes. Esko trailed early, 4-0, but Haugen converted a four-point play and hit two more wing 3-pointers that helped his team build a 10-6 lead six minutes into the game.
Esko’s offense wasn’t firing on all cylinders early, but Haugen came ready to play, something that didn’t surprise Esko head coach Derek Anderson one bit.
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“I have a ton of confidence in him,” Anderson said. “ He’s always ready to hit a shot. We run a couple of sets for him as well to get him going. His teammates do a great job of setting screens for him or driving and finding him. Mid-range, attacking the rim or from three, he shoots the ball well.”
Esko built a 30-22 lead going into halftime, but Pequot Lakes began the second stanza on a 7-0 run that made it just a one-point lead, 30-29, less than 90 seconds into the action.
Anderson’s squad didn’t flinch, as Esko responded and ultimately survived with a 58-50 victory. The battle between Esko and Pequot Lakes is an annual rivalry game that often previews the Section 7AA championship, so for Anderson, it’s always about execution.
“We have played them so many times in the regular season and playoffs,” Anderson said. “We both know what we’re going to do, it’s just a matter of who can execute and who can hit shots. Tonight we did a good job of hitting big-time shots down the stretch.”
Anderson isn’t kidding when he talks about Esko and Pequot Lakes squaring off regularly. In addition to playing each other in the regular season, the two programs have met in each of the last three Section 7AA title games, with Pequot winning each time.
The continuous meetings between the two programs has fostered a mutual respect through familiarity — and a deep disdain — for each other in recent years. Perhaps no player knows that better than the aforementioned Haugen.
“It’s been really painful,” Haugen said. “I’ve been playing varsity since I was a freshman. I’ve played them in the section championship and have lost every year, so it’s really tough, especially when it’s the same team.”
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Technically speaking, Tuesday night’s grudge match was just another regular season game, but Spiczka and Pequot Lakes, along with Anderson and his program, are not naive enough to believe it doesn’t mean a little more than other games on the schedule.
“This game is circled on the calendar by both schools every year,” Spiczka said. “Coming here, it’s a full house, the student section, there is not a lot of love between the two, and it’s competitive.”
Esko’s victory over Pequot Lakes (15-4) capped off a three-game stretch in which Anderson’s squad also knocked off Moose Lake/Willow River and a tough St. Cloud Cathedral program. They’ve now won six straight and are 15-4 overall.
While Tuesday night may have been a cathartic victory, it doesn’t actually mean that much to Haugen. Winning is great, but he’s much more focused on potentially seeing Pequot Lakes again in March for a 7AA title, that’s the game he really wants to win.
“This is the year we beat them, for sure,” Haugen said. “We move the ball so much better, we play so much better defense than the last few years and when it comes down to crunch time, we capitalize.”
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