ROCHESTER — Glenville-Emmons went into the half eight points down to Goodhue, and the Wolverines couldn’t overcome the deficit in the scrappy second half.

With about 7 minutes left in the first half of the Section 1A West Division final boys’ basketball game, the score was Goodhue 17, Glenville-Emmons 16. Fans waited for the team to get over its early-game anxieties and settle into its usual uptempo rhythm. Alas, it was not to be, and the Wolverines fell to the Wildcats 55-46.

“The kids played hard,” said Glenville-Emmons coach Dan Fredrickson.

He said he was surprised his players held high-scoring Goodhue to just 55 points. He said his team had a lot of looks but simply missed a lot of buckets.

“Shots they normally hit were just not going in,” Fredrickson said.

The big stage might have been a factor, he said.

It was the first time the school had played in the main arena at Mayo Civic Center. The game Glenville-Emmons won Tuesday against Bethlehem Academy was at one of the venue’s smaller courts.

Glenville-Emmons didn’t score for five minutes while at the 16-point mark. Finally, with a minute left in the first half, Andrew Lau made a bucket, making the score 25-18.

Goodhue went into the half 28-20 and came out stalling, while Glenville-Emmons kept trying to speed things up. Meanwhile, the referees drew the ire of G-E fans on some questionable calls. Bad passes, man-to-man defenses and missed shots were the order of the day on both ends of the court. All of it made for a scrappy, on-the-floor, turnover-and-foul-filled second half.

With about four minutes left in the game, Glenville-Emmons threw up a full-court press to break the stall tactic. It worked at first with a Peter Hansen steal and assist to Tyler Woodside to close the gap to 46-36. But Goodhue overcame it by hitting shots when it needed them down the stretch, opening the lead to 13 points.

Glenville-Emmons senior Landon Hall canned a big 3-pointer with 1:50 left in the game to make it 52-41. Another Wolverine 3-pointer made it 52-44. Goodhue then went back to stalling. Free throws resulted in the 55-46 final score.

Lau had 11 points in the first half, and 5 in the second, topping Wolverine scorers. Usually, Hansen is in double digits, but the Wildcats held him to 5 points.

Fredrickson said his players knew the Wildcats would have a fast transition game. “But we didn’t understand how fast they were really going to be.”

Then once that eight-point gap was in place, Goodhue held on to it, focusing its defense on shutting down Hansen and Lau on the perimeter. That opened up Ryan Dempewolfe, who scored 11 points.

Fredrickson gave credit to Goodhue coach Tony Poncelet.

“It was a well-coached team,” he said.

Glenville-Emmons made five out of seven tries at the free-throw line. Goodhue went 10 of 19.

After the game, the Wolverines accepted their hardware from the Minnesota State High School League for capturing runner-up in the West Division.

“I am proud of the fans. I am proud of the players,” Fredrickson said. “It’s been an exciting season. It won’t be forgotten.”

Lau said the Wolverines couldn’t get stops on defense when they needed them.

“I am proud of how we did this season, but I know we could have done a lot better,” he said.

Hall wept after the loss.

“I am proud to be from Glenville,” he said. “But I know I will never get to play again.”

Hall spoke highly of his coach. He said Fredrickson puts in more time and effort than most coaches.

“We’re lucky to have him,” he said.

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Goodhue 55, Glenville-Emmons 46

Goodhue: Ashton Erie 19, Michael McNamara 13, Derek McNamara 8, Nathan Voth 6, Jared Dicke 5, Brian Strauss 4

Glenville-Emmons: Andrew Lau 16, Ryan Dempewolf 11, Tyler Woodside 8, Landon Hall 6, Peter Hansen 5