NEW WASHINGTON— It was an All-Jackson County postseason matchup on Friday evening, between Trinity Lutheran and Medora. The same two teams met in the girls sectional at New Washington last month.

The stands were filled with Jackson County fans as the Cougars defeated the Hornets, 67-34. Trinity outscored Medora 41-15 between the second and third quarters to take the 33-point win.

Cougars Coach Mike Lang spoke on the outcome with the Hornets.

“You’re always happy to get the win and move on,” Lang said. “I thought Medora played hard and stuck with us in the first half. We eventually broke them down and pulled away in the second half.”

The game started fast with Hudson Lang taking the ball right to the basket to grab the early lead. Medora’s Hudson, Johnson that is, came right back with his own jumper to tie it at 2. Kowan Gross then responded with a basket to regain the lead.

It was a back-and-forth first quarter, before the Cougars took control in the second quarter. Levi Pottschmidt then found Peyton Pollert with a beautiful pass to make it 6-2, before Jaxon Nugen hit a three for the Hornets.

Reed Mellencamp then got the one-handed layup to fall making it 8-5 in favor of Trinity. Damian Salas responded with a 20 foot mid-range jumper to cut it back to one. Gross was then fouled, hitting one from the line to make it 9-7. Salas responded to take the first Medora lead of the game at 10-9. Lang hit a three to end the quarter with the Cougars on top 12-10.

Pottschmidt kicked off the scoring with a turnaround jumpshot. Charlie Hackman then added a triple to make it 17-10 in favor of Trinity. Hudson Johnson then scored a basket after Kade Wright sank a floater to make it a 3-point game. Trinity added to their lead, making it 22-14 with 3:33 left in the first half.

Pottschmidt added the layup the following possession to make it 24-14. Trinity then proceeded to go on a 8-2 run to make it 32-16, closing the half with that score.

Gross began the third quarter with an easy putback basket for Trinity. The Cougars got out to a 5-0 run to open the second half, now leading 37-16 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Salas broke the Cougars run, hitting a jumpshot to make it a 19-point game. Peyton Pollert then went on his own 5-0 run, hitting two straight shots to make it 42-18.

Medora would show toughness in the third quarter, battling it out, still trailing 49-25 with a minute left in the third period. The Cougars led 53-25 after three, moving along to the sectional final. Damian Salas hit a three during the early Medora 6-2 run to open the fourth, making it 55-31 with 6 minutes to play.

Pottschmidt buried another three, to make it 60-33 with 3:45 left in the game. It then became 67-34 with 1:30 left in the game. The Cougars will face off with New Washington on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. The game will be for the Sectional title, with the winner moving onto regionals next weekend.

Lang spoke on the next opponent in the Mustangs.

“It starts up front with Mason Arthur on their team,” Lang said. “We gotta do a good job of defending our space and keeping our minds focused.”

New Washington Sectional

Trinity Lutheran 67, Medora 34

Medora; 10; 6; 9; 9;—;34

Trinity; 12; 20; 21; 14;—;67

Trinity (13-11): Kowan Gross, 6 3-4 15, Levi Pottschmidt, 4 4-4 13, Peyton Pollert, 4 1-1 9, Hudson Lang, 3 1-2 8, Reed Mellencamp, 3 2-4 8, Charlie Hackman, 2 2-2 7, Bode Brooks, 1 0-0 3, Luke Schepman, 1 0-0 2, Kade Gillaspy, 1 0-2 2. Totals: 25 13-18 67.

Medora (9-13): Hudson Johnson, 5 4-7 14, Damian Salas, 5 1-2 13, Jaxon Nugen, 1 0-0 3, Kade Wright, 2 0-0 4, Eli Lane, 0 0-0 0, Dawson Cornett, 0 0-0 0. Totals: 13 5-9 34.

3-Point Goals: Trinity 4, (Lang, Hackman, Brooks and Pottschmidt) Medora 3 (Salas 2, Nugen)

Fouls: Medora 16, Trinity 10