The Raider boys (19-5) took a trip to Tartan (23-0) looking to give the Titans their first loss of the season on Feb. 18, but the plan was foiled by the kings of the Metro East Conference (MEC). Tartan won 100-57. To the Raiders credit, that thumping did not hang with them, and they took care of business against South St. Paul (10-14) just two days later with an 81-73 win.
At Tartan
The game against the MEC leading, undefeated Tartan Titans was expected to be the most difficult challenge of the season for the Raiders and unfortunately, that turned into reality with the 100-57 lopsided loss. Hastings had not allowed a 100-point game all season and the most points they allowed prior to the Tartan game was the 87-73 loss against Two Rivers. Tartan entered the game averaging 75.68 points per game and Hastings averages 78.04 points per game. Numerically, Hastings had the edge, but that did not account for the Titans swarming, quick twitching, fast defense.
Once the Titans solidified their lead early on, they never let go and they led the Raiders 61-28 at the intermission. The combination of the Raider defense making changes and the Titans playing more bench players in the second half kept the second round of scoring much close, but Tartan still outscored Hastings 39-29 to win 100-57.
Matthew Foss returned to the Raider lineup, but it was clear he was not fully healed from his ankle injury. He logged 20 minutes of play, but he did not have the confidence to drive the lane like he normally does, and Tartan did a great job defensively, holding him to only four points.
Weston Schult had a career game, scoring 23 points, Brady Hendrickson added 12 points and Lukas Foss scored nine. Caleb Gudissa contributed five to round out the top five scorers. Kyan Esterby had five rebounds and Jacob Reuter nabbed three, it was a tough night in the paint for the Raiders.
Versus South St. Paul
The frustrating loss to Tartan seemed to fuel the Raiders when the Packers came to town on Feb. 20. The first half was a close game until Hastings crept away to take a 41-36 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same and the Raiders pulled out the 81-73 win.
Five Raiders scored double digits Matthew Foss returned to form and Schult just kept scoring, and both recorded 17 points. Lukas Foss popped 14 into the hoop, Marlowe Strain scored 12 and Esterby scored 10. Schult grabbed a team leading 10 rebounds with Strain and Esterby nabbing six each in the win.
Up next
The Raiders have one more game to finish the regular season, they travel to Mahtomedi on Friday, Feb. 28 for a 6:30 p.m. tip. After that, they will learn their fate for the Section 3AAAA tournament where they are expected to host on Mar. 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Section Standings
The Section 3AAAA standings are always ones that do not favor Hastings. Most of the section teams are also in the same conference which means the section-leading Apple Valley Eagles sit at 20-4 overall compared to the Raiders at 19-5 overall.
The issue becomes the number of section wins, Apple Valley has a 7-1 section record while Hastings is only 2-0 in section play. Eagan is in second place with a 7-1 section record, but they are 15-9 overall. The section does use the Quality Results Formula (QRF) when it benefits the teams in the South Suburban Conference and based on QRF, Apple Valley is the one seed, Eagan the two, Hastings the three and Rosemount the four. Rosemount has had a down season sitting at 9-15 overall and 3-5 in the section.
There is zero reason to swap the Raiders to the fourth seed and move Rosemount to the third, but it should not shock Raiders fans when it happens. There definitely is a reason to have the discussion to move Hastings into the second seed based on the overall records of Eagan and Hastings, 15-9 versus 19-5, but the section records of 7-1 versus 2-0 will play a large factor in that decision. Hastings should be the third seed and should host Burnsville, but at this point, it is a wait and see situation. Either way, the expectation is Hastings will host a section playoff game on Mar. 4 at 7:00 p.m. See the section ticketing story for the full details on what to expect for all section games.