The 7th ranked Rushford-Peterson boys’ basketball team plays for a state tournament berth tonight when the Trojans face Blooming Prairie in the Section 1A final in Rochester. The Trojans are 25-3 this season and they’ve won 11 straight and 24 of the last 25 games. Blooming Prairie is 18-9 and the Awesome Blossoms have won 8 of their last 9 games.
Rushford-Peterson has struggled at times containing a strong inside game and Blooming Prairie will feature a big front line.

Six-foot-six John Rumpza averages 22 points and 12.5 rebounds while six-foot-three Michael Thomas scoring 18 points per game to go along with 7 rebounds. Rumpza and Thomas are the main scorers for Blooming Prairie and they combine for 39 of their 63 points per game. The Trojans are a much more balanced team with six players averaging between 7.5 to 11 points per game.

Rushford-Peterson’s advantage could be with their pressure defense. The Trojans average 16 steals while Awesome Blossoms turns it over 17 times a game.

The Trojans will be looking for their second straight trip to the state tournament and they’ve played in five of the last eight state tournaments overall. Last season R-P finished third in Class 1A but lost their top two scorers Nick Thompson and Trent Vix who combined to average 38 points per game. This year’s team is a young team with just one senior seeing regular playing time.

Tonight’s Rushford-Peterson game can be heard on K-Dub Country 99.3 and online at winonaradio.com starting at 7:45.