Photo by Jake McNeill: Murray County Central guard Gavin Gillette (1) shoots a midrange jumper over a Lac qui Parle Valley defender during a prep boys basketball game in the Holiday Classic at Southwest Minnesota State University’s R/A Facility on Monday afternoon.

This story will be updated with stats, quotes and photos

MARSHALL — Despite a late run from Lac qui Parle Valley, the Murray County Central boys basketball team held on for a win on the first day of the boys Holiday Classic at Southwest Minnesota State University on Monday afternoon. The Rebels fell behind in the final minute but Aidan Swenson came up with a late go-ahead shot to give MCC a 63-60 win.

MCC had led the entire game before a Davis Patzer free throw brought the Eagles within a point, and a Baxter Kallhoff block set up Carson Besonen’s go-ahead jumper for LQPV’s first lead of the game, 60-59.

Yet, the LQPV lead was short-lived. Hudson Schryvers found Swenson on the block with a pass from the top of the key, and Swenson converted the go-ahead shot in the final 40 seconds.

“It was very nerve-wracking,” Swenson said of the play. “When I got the ball, I was very nervous that I was going to miss it, but I made it so that was nice to make what was pretty much the winning shot.”

The Rebels got a defensive stop and LQPV was forced to intentionally foul to stay in the game. Gavin Gillette, with ice in his veins, stepped up to the line and hit both free throws to give the Rebels a 3-point cushion, and LQPV’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer fell no good to seal the MCC win.

“That’s what we talked about in the locker room at the end of the game, is you found a way to get it done,” MCC head coach Tim Cariveau said. “I think that’s a sign of a good team, and that’s what we’re going to take away from this. We’ll watch the film and we’ll try to correct plenty of things, but they did battle.”

Gillette and Swenson finished the game as MCC’s leading scorers. Gillette recorded 20 points on 6 of 16 shooting while Swenson added 14 points on 7 of 14 shooting. Schryvers and Max Miller added another 11 and 9 points respectively, Miller shooting 3 of 6 from 3-point range and Schryvers dishing out a game-high five assists.

MCC outrebounded LQPV 38-31 in the game. Swenson and Schryvers each grabbed 10 rebounds to finish the day with double-doubles for MCC, while Gillette grabbed another seven rebounds. Swenson’s four offensive rebounds were also a game-high.

Coming out of the locker room with a 4-point lead, the Rebels once again found their rhythm. It took six minutes after the break for MCC to bring its lead back up to double digits, with a layup from Gillette making the score 50-40.

From there, the Rebels increased their lead to as many as 14 points, going up 55-41 with 10 minutes to play. Yet, LQPV heated up down the stretch and rattled off a 9-0 run to get back within two possessions.

“I think [LQPV] just kept battling. Their consistency, I thought, was pretty steady compared to ours,” Cariveau said. “We were more of a roller coaster on offense, and then followed that up with maybe a miscommunication on defense… Things like that kind of compiled.”

As a team, MCC shot 40% from the field and 7 of 18 (39%) from 3-point range. LQPV, meanwhile, shot 35% from the field and 8 of 23 (35%) from 3-point range.

It took nearly six minutes for Gillette to end the drought with a layup, but Tygan Allpress responded with a layup through contact to trim MCC’s lead back to 5 points.

Matthew Arndt then knocked down another 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game, 57-55 in favor of the Rebels, with 2:37 to play. Davis Patzer then hit the jumper to tie the game up at 57-57, marking the first tie since the game’s opening minutes.

The Rebels’ selflessness and ball movement was key to their ability to jump out to an early lead. Miller led the team with 9 first-half points while Gillette, Schryvers and Swenson each scored another 8.

“The balance was good… I just think the difference in the second half was the shot-making off of the ball, it was a lot less,” Cariveau said, adding that he felt his team played at a good pace in the first half. “We’ve been able to have some consistent scorers and then we have good role players that will knock down shots here and there, and our defense has been fairly good as well. Just today was a little more like a Christmas break type of game, where it’s not as consistent.”

All of Miller’s first-half points came in the first 9 minutes, building an early 21-12 lead for the Rebels when LQPV called the game’s first timeout. MCC continued to surge with Gillette, Swenson and Cayden Veldhuisen each knocking down a shot to give the Rebels a 28-12 lead, their largest of the half.

MCC continued to move the ball effectivelyl but its perimeter shooting went cold late in the first half. A 3-pointer from Arndt and a steal and transition layup from Besonen brought the Eagles within a point of the Rebels, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer from Schryvers sent MCC into the locker room with a 39-35 advantage.

Murray County Central improves to 5-2 with the win and has now won four of its last five games. The Rebels will look to keep the hot streak going when they take on Minneota (3-4) Tuesday as part of the second day of the Holiday Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. at SMSU’s R/A Facility.