Photo by Jake McNeill: Dawson-Boyd guard Gunner Liebl attempts a 3-pointer while defended by a pair of Central Minnesota CHristian defenders during Saturday's 3A North subsection championship game at Southwest Minnesota State University's R/A Facility.

This story will be updated with stats, quotes and details

MARSHALL — A late first-half surge and a decisive first few minutes of the second half allowed the top-seeded Dawson-Boyd boys basketball team to pull away from No. 2 Central Minnesota Christian in Saturday’s 3A North championship game, 81-47. The win marks the Blackjacks’ second subsection championship in the last three years and puts them one victory away from the state tournament.

Dawson-Boyd last reached the 3A championship in 2023 before falling to the eventual state champion Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights. A win in this year’s section championship would give the Blackjacks their first state tournament berth since 1991.

The Blackjacks never trailed in the subsection championship. A Drew Hjelmeland grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback layup and dished an assist to Gunner Liebl for a corner 3 to give Dawson-Boyd each of the game’s first 5 points.

Liebl attacked early and often, finishing the first half with 13 points and finishing the day with 25. Both marks were game-highs as he shot 10 of 13 from the field while draining each of his three 3-point attempts. His four assists with one turnover were also second only to Hjelmeland’s five assists on two turnovers.

Also contributing, Boike and Stratmoen talled 8 first-half points each before Boike finished with 15 and Stratmoen tied Jaxton Hastad for third on the team with 13.

Following Dawson-Boyd’s opening scoring run, Bluejays made it a 1-point game when a pair of Drew Duininck buckets and another from Logan Roloefs made it a 1-point game. Still, Liebl and Brayson Boike answered with a layup and a pull-up jumper.

Liebl continued to catch heat with a 3-pointer and a layup through contact, emphatically pumping his first after earning the and-1 to make the score 17-8..

CMC called a timeout with 9:16 remaining after Liebl’s and-1, and Eli Gerdes and Asher Wieberdink drained 3s on consecutive trips down the court to make it a one-possession game. Still, Hastad scored off a baseline out-of-bounds pass to give Dawson-Boyd an inch of breathing room.

Over the final four minutes of the half, Dawson-Boyd quickly grew its lead. Boike made it a double-digit game when he angled his way down the baseline before throwing down a two-hand slam, and Stratmoen connected on a 3-point attempt on the Blackjacks’ next possession to make it a 31-17 game with three minutes remaining.

Dawson-Boyd finished the day with a 13-2 edge on the offensive glass, led by four rebounds each from Hjelmeland and Hastad and another three from Boike. Hjelmeland and Boike finished tied with a team-high eight rebounds while Hastad added another six.

Dawson-Boyd went into halftime with a 37-22 lead, which was the largest of the game at the time. Still, that lead only continued to balloon after the break. Gerdes scored the first second-half points for CMC, but Dawson-Boyd responded with a pair of 3s from Boike and Liebl, and Hjelmeland deflected a CMC pass to Boike before Boike assisted a Hastad layup.

Another pair of free throws for Hastad after another CMC turnover capped off the 10-0 Dawson-Boyd run with the Blackjacks in command, 47-24.

At halftime, no Bluejays had more than 6 points. Wieberdink finished the game with a team-high 11 points on 3 of 5 shooting while Micah Asake and Gerded added another 9 points each.

As the second half progressed, the Blackjacks built their lead up to 34 points with a Liebl fast break dunk with four minutes remaining. CMC never got back within 20 points and both teams substituted out their starters to a standing ovation with 3:47 remaining.

With the win, Dawson-Boyd improves to 26-3 on the season and now will prepare for Thursday’s Section 3A championship against the winner of No. 1 Hills-Beaver Creek and No. 6 Murray County Central in the 3A South finals. Tip-off for the Section 3A championship is slated for 8 p.m. at the R/A Facility on Thursday.