TIP & TAP — Martin County West’s Jamesson Forsberg (far right) tips the basketball away from Springfield’s Brayden Sturm before Maverick teammate Zach Anderson (far left) taps it out of Sturm’s reach during Section 2A, South Sub-Section quarterfinal action Tuesday night in Sherburn. Martin County West’s Mitchell Weber (back left) observes the action. (Photo by Greg Abel)

SHERBURN — Springfield’s daunting task during Tuesday night’s Section 2A, South Sub-Section basketball quarterfinal — stop a pair of 1,000-point plus career scorers from Martin County West.

Zach Anderson and Mitchell Weber combined for 53 points — including six 3-pointers, 17 rebounds, nine blocked shots and six assists to stampede the No. 4-seeded Mavericks to a 75-58 victory over the No. 5-seeded Tigers during sectional playoff action in Sherburn.

Martin County West (16-11) advances to face No. 1-seeded United South Central (20-7) in a 6 p.m. sub-section semifinal Thursday night at St. Peter High School, weather permitting. The Rebels gained the next round via a 70-29 quarterfinal win over No. 9-seeded Madelia.

“Win and advance. That’s the name of the game during this time of the year,” Maverick head coach Cliff Anderson said with a smile. “Obviously, we received two big games from Zach and Mitchell tonight, but Wyatt (Williamson), Hunter (Schmidt) and Jamo (Jamesson Forsberg) really stepped up tonight, too.

“Wyatt worked the boards for nine, including five at the offensive end; Hunter knocked down three 3s; and Jamo hit a 3 and played great defense. You can’t ask for much more than that.”

Both teams utilized the bonus arc early and often, combining for seven trifectas to battle to a 17-all tie by the 8-minute juncture of the opening half.

“We set the initial tone by knocking down three 3s (one each from Zach Anderson, Weber and Schmidt) to build a 13-6 lead, but we didn’t get back and defend the 3 at the other end and let Springfield back into the game,” said Cliff Anderson.

Ben Potter, who netted a team-best 20 points to complement team-highs of seven rebounds and three assists, swooshed a long-distance shot from behind the arc to trigger the Tigers’ countering 3-point barrage. Brayden Sturm and Noah Vogel contributed one 3 apiece to eventually knot the game.

Sturm, who finished with 11 points, buried a trey to transform Springfield’s 19-17 deficit into a one-point lead before Potter’s midcourt steal and ensuing two free throws staked the Tigers to a 22-19 edge with 3:47 left before intermission.

“Mitchell, Zach and Hunter answered with three clutch 3s down the stretch to trigger a 13-0 run to eventually give us a 32-23 lead by halftime,” said Cliff Anderson.

Weber, who produced 25 points, seven boards, four blocks and three assists, snapped the nets on a fadeaway left-wing deuce before Weber spotted Zach Anderson for a triple for three of his game-leading 28 points. Anderson completed a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds to go with five blocks and three assists.

Weber tossed in two free throws, Schmidt drained a trey and Forsberg spotted Weber for a left-corner 3 off a steal with 60 seconds remaining in the opening half to swing the momentum back to the Mavericks.

Bryan Buerkle nailed a 3-pointer to open the second half and cut Springfield’s gap to 32-26, but Forsberg countered with a triple and the Mavericks did not look back.

Weber and Zach Anderson proved double-trouble for the Tigers during the second 18 minutes, combining for 16 consecutive points for the Mavericks to stretch the lead to 19 by the 4-minute juncture.

Schmidt finished with nine points, Forsberg supplied five points and three steals, while Williamson pulled down nine boards to help Zach Anderson and Weber pace MCW’s 35-23 rebounding advantage.

Vogel delivered 12 points for the Tigers, Buerkle produced all eight of his points and each of his game-best four steals during the second half, while Potter poured in 14 of his team-best 20 points during the final 18 minutes. Potter nailed three consecutive 3s during the game’s final 4 minutes.

Springfield    23-35–58

M.C. West     32-43–75

MCW (75)

Williamson 1-3 0-0 2, Z. Anderson 9-15 7-8 28, Schmidt 3-9 0-1 9, Forsberg 2-7 0-0 5, Weber 8-15 6-6 25, Omvig 0-0 0-0 0, Clarke 1-2 0-0 2, Wilmes 2-2 0-0 4, Morales 0-1 0-0 0, Kascht 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 13-15 75.

SPRINGFIELD (58)

Krick 1-5 0-0 2, Vogel 4-9 1-1 12, Sturm 3-14 2-2 11, Buerkle 3-9 1-2 8, Potter 6-10 4-5 20, Moriarty 0-0 0-0 0, Fredin-Jensen 2-3 1-3 5. Totals 19-50 9-13 58.

3-pointers: Springfield 11-25 (Potter 4, Sturm and Vogel 3 each, Buerkle 1); MCW 10-24 (Z. Anderson, Schmidt and Weber 3 each, Forsberg 1). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: MCW 35 (Z. Anderson 10, Williamson 9, Weber 7); Springfield 23 (Potter 7). Assists: MCW 11 (Weber and Z. Anderson 3 each); Springfield 6 (Potter 3). Steals: MCW 8 (Forsberg 3); Springfield 6 (Buerkle 4). Blocked shots: Z. Anderson 5, Weber 4.