Hubmen Win Inaugural MRC Revival Tourney
By Tracy Helgerson
Over the weekend the Jordan Hubmen were crowned the first-ever Minnesota River Conference (MRC) Revival Tournament Champs. Hosted by LeSueur-Henderson, Jordan defeated the Norwood-Young America (NYA) Central Raiders 78-57 on Friday. In Saturday’s Championship Game, the Hubmen dominated LeSueur-Henderson, the host team, 71-48.
Jordan 78 NYA Central Raiders 57
On Friday night, The Hubmen jumped out to an 11-2 lead on the NYA Central Raiders with an aggressive man-to-man defense that suppressed their offense. Jordan’s full-court pressure continued to give the Central Raiders trouble, and the lead expanded to 39-22. Junior guard Graham Helgerson banked in a 3 pointer at the buzzer to give the Hubmen a comfortable 42-23 halftime lead.
Jordan controlled the second half with its largest lead being 65-43 at the 7:37 mark. The Hubmen led from start to finish to complete a 78-57 team win.
It was a balanced scoring effort with four players in double figures. Lexyn Grof had 17 points. Mitchell Schmidt added 15 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. Graham Helgerson contributed 12 points and 7 assists. Brayden Davis rounded out the scoring with 11.
Jordan 71 LeSueur-Henderson Giants 48
Renewing one of the old MRC rivalries, Jordan and LeSueur-Henderson (LSH) met in the championship game. With LSH’s lineup featuring four players over 6’6 and truly “giants" compared to Jordan’s tallest player, Sophomore Connor Stensland at 6'5, you would have thought the Hubmen would be at a disadvantage. Just the opposite happened as Jordan’s full court pressure and quickness were too much for the Giants especially in the second half. They cruised to a 71-48 win.
The first half was back and forth with an early tie at 19. Jordan then went on a 9-0 run to go up 28-19 and took a 32-23 lead into the half. Junior Lexyn Grof had 12 of the Hubmen’s 32 points at the break.
The second half was all Jordan. With back to back 3s, the Hubmen grew their lead to 38-23 and never looked back. The score grew to 71-42 with 2:11 remaining in the game and benches were cleared by both teams. As a team, Jordan had 30 points off of turnovers.
Three Hubmen players scored a combined 52 points exceeding LSH’s point total. Lexyn Grof had 28 points and 4 steals. Brayden Davis scored 14 and 3 steals. Jacob Conrady chipped in with 10 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals.