Miami-Yoder steals CSS hopes of playoff advancement

Sean Engstrom stole an inbounds pass late in the third and had another steal early in the fourth to spark an 8-2 run for Miami-Yoder, as the Buffaloes eliminated Colorado Springs School from the 2A Region 8 district tournament 47-33 on Monday.

Along with Michael McBride, Engstrom finished tied with a team-high 12 points for the Buffaloes (4-14), who advance to play Peyton on Tuesday.

“Once you get the steal it’s like ... I just got to put it in nice and easy,” Engstrom said of his third-quarter steal.

The 8-2 run put Miami-Yoder up 35-29.

The Kodiaks (5-15) had tied the score at 27 before Engstrom’s steal with 23 seconds left in the third. After that, the Kodiaks went 3-for-11 in the fourth quarter and the Buffaloes outscored them 18-6 in a game that until that point never saw a lead of more than six.

“We’ve just had trouble getting shots to fall,” said CSS junior Hunter Golden, who scored a game-high 17. “We let it run away from us, and once it started slipping away, we never really got a stop and slowed down their momentum.”

Golden will be one of 11 returning players for the Kodiaks next season. Having such a young team was rough, but could be beneficial in the future.

“I think it’s good and bad,” Golden said. “I’d like to have some diversity, but I think it’s definitely good that some of the younger guys get to play at this level.”

Senior James Chen added eight for CSS.