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Mountain Iron-Buhl drops Maranatha Christian Academy in cross-class matinee

By Matthew Davis, SportsEngine, 02/15/20, 9:45AM CST

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The Rangers toppled the Mustangs on Saturday, gaining momentum late in the regular season as they seek their 10th consecutive state tournament appearance.

Mountain Iron-Buhl's Jordan Zubich (4) drives the lane past Marantha's Demaiyah Hill (3). Zubich led all scoring with 17 points in a 69-52 win for the Rangers. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Mountain Iron-Buhl's Jordan Zubich (4) drives the lane past Maranatha's Demaiyah Hill (3). Zubich led all scoring with 17 points in a 69-52 win for the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Mountain Iron-Buhl and Maranatha Christian Academy share the record for the most consecutive state tournament appearances at nine over the past decade.

Come March, Mountain Iron-Buhl could surpass the Mustangs with a 10th-straight appearance given Maranatha Christian Academy’s streak ended last season. 

The Rangers and Mustangs faced each other in several Class 1A tournaments before the Mustangs moved to Class 2A in 2018. Streaks and records aside, the Rangers, ranked No. 5 in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News, contented themselves by beating the Mustangs 69-52 in a late regular-season matchup in Brooklyn Park on Saturday afternoon.

“That would be amazing. I don’t even know what I would do,” said Rangers senior guard Miah Gellerstedt about a possible 10th-straight state tournament appearance.

Mountain Iron-Buhl's Sage Ganyo drives the baseline through a pair of Marantha defenders. Ganyo tallied 14 points in the Rangers 69-52 win over the Mustangs in a Class 1A matchup. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Mountain Iron-Buhl's Sage Ganyo drives the baseline through a pair of Maranatha defenders. Ganyo tallied 14 points in the Rangers 69-52 win over the Mustangs. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

First Report

Mountain Iron-Buhl broke the game open in the second half to defeat Maranatha Christian Academy 69-52 on Saturday in Brooklyn Park.

Maranatha Christian Academy (12-13, 8-3) ran to a 20-11 lead early before the Rangers, ranked No. 5 in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News, rallied to grab a 23-22 edge. Rangers senior guard Miah Gellerstedt sparked the offense with five points during the 11-3 run.

Freshman guard Chloe Jarnot helped the Mustangs’ start strong with 11 points in the first half. But at halftime, Mountain Iron-Buhl had a 35-31 lead.

Jarnot and company couldn’t rally in the second half, as the Rangers (18-6, 3-0) expanded on their lead with an 11-4 stretch to gain an 11-point advantage early in the half. Eighth-grader Jordan Zubich, a guard, led the Rangers with 17 points. Gellerstedt finished with 15 points and Sage Ganyo added 14.

Jarnot finished with a team-high 16 points for the Maranatha Christian Academy, while Maliyah White and Alainah Erickson each scored 11 points.

Both schools achieved nine-straight state tournament appearances in the past decade. The Mustangs’ streak ended last season when they missed the Class 2A tournament, but the Rangers could extend their streak to 10 appearances by making the Class 1A tourney in March.

Maranatha's Chloe Jarnot passes the ball down the court. Jarnot led scoring for the Mustangs with 16 points. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

Maranatha's Chloe Jarnot passes the ball down the court. Jarnot led scoring for the Mustangs with 16 points. Photo by Cheryl A. Myers, SportsEngine

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