Boys' basketball: West Central Area wins one, drops two

Talk about it

The West Central Area boys shot 53 percent overall and 41 percent from three and still lost by 36 points last Friday night.

That’s how good 23-0 Upsala is this year. The Cardinals couldn’t be stopped as they went 44-of-66 from the field, including 17-of-30 from the three-point line.

“This will sound funny,” WCA head coach Kraig Hunter said, “but we really played well in this game. If people haven’t seen Upsala play, they are very deep, talented and athletic. They have nine players that can all shoot, and they just keep coming in waves…I have seen some good shooting displays before, but I’ve never seen anything like this. They are a great team and tonight they played as well as they can play.”

Upsala had six players in double figures, led by Christian Pekarek with 24. That trumped five players in double figures for WCA. Jay Zimmerman had 20 points and eight rebounds. Dakotah Kashmark added 13 points. Drew Peterson had 12 and Brady Combs and Austin Redepenning each had 10.

The loss was the second of three straight losses for the Knights after they fell 61-59 against Wheaton-Herman-Norcross on Saturday. The Warriors’ Mathew Pederson hit the game winner with about 10 seconds left. The Knights got a shot off in the lane in the closing seconds but it hit off the back iron.

“This game did not come down to that play,” Hunter said. “We started the game 2-of-11 from the field and missed our first four free throws. Missing little bunnies and free throws in the first few minutes is a big reason we lost this game.”

Combs led the way for the Knights with 14 points. Zimmerman added 13, while Peterson finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.

West Central Area’s lone senior, Drew Peterson, scored 21 points, pulled down six rebounds, and added seven assists and six steals to propel the Knights to a 60-35 win over St. John’s Prep Tuesday night.

He was also charged with defending the Johnnies’ leading scorer, Zach Dehler, holding him to a season-low three points.

“What a great night for Drew,” said head coach Kraig Hunter. “Drew is a top notch kid in every aspect of life. His character, integrity, his dedication, work ethic and leadership are all remarkable.”

West Central Area made some runs in the first half against St. John’s Prep, but the Johnnies knocked down five three-point shots to stay in the game and trail by just two at the half.

In the second half, the Knights stepped up their defense, holding St. John’s Prep to just seven points.

“That was a real nice defensive effort,” said Hunter. “We really had them out of rhythm in the second half and finished the game on a 21-4 run.

“They came in with a 12-11 record and had just lost to state-ranked Browerville in overtime, so it was a good win.”

West Central Area will be at Osakis tonight, Friday, for their final regular season game.

GAME STATISTICS

WCA 26 33 – 59

WHEATON 34 27 – 61

TOTALS – WCA – FG – 20-49; Three-point FG – 4-15; ; Free throws – 15-25; Rebounds – 25; Turnovers – 6; Wheaton – FG – 23-45; Three-point FG – 6-9; FT – 9-14; Rebounds – 28; Turnovers – 16

WCA – Combs – 14 points, 6 rebounds; Zimmerman – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals; Peterson – 10 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals; Kashmark – 9 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists; Andrew Lindor – 6 points, 3 rebounds; Alex Toms – 4 points; Austin Redepenning – 3 points

WHEATON – Carter Thiele – 16; Matt Pederson – 14 points, 7 assists; Gabe Prahl – 8; Jake Rinke – 8; Cameron Maudal – 5; Truman Raguse – 5; Justin Lupkes – 5

UPSALA 57 55 – 112

WCA 40 36 – 76

TOTALS – WCA – 32-60; Three-point FG – 7-17; FT – 5-8; Rebounds – 23; Turnovers – 15; Upsala – FG – 44-66; Three-point FG – 17-30; FT – 7-10; Rebounds – 31; Turnovers – 9

WCA – Zimmerman – 20 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 steal; Kashmark – 13 points, 3 assists, 1 steal; Peterson – 12 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals; Combs – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Redepenning – 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals; Lindor – 4 points, 8 rebounds; Hunter Pfingsten – 3 points; Toms – 2 points; Devin Nelson – 2 points

WEST CENTRAL AREA 60,

ST. JOHN’S PREP 35

WCA 30 30 — 60

ST. JOHN’S PREP 28 7 — 35

WEST CENTRAL AREA – Drew Peterson 21, Jay Zimmerman 10, Austin Redepenning 9, Dakotah Kashmark 7, Brady Combs 6, Andrew Lindor 4, Alex toms 3. Field goals 22-42, 3-pt 7-14, Free throws 9-13, Rebounds 29 (Peterson 6, Kashmark 9, Combs 4, Lindor 4), Turnovers 13.

ST. JOHN’S PREP – Grant Franke 8, R.J. Alpers 6, Luke Teigen 6, Alex Kendall 5, Pat Arnold 4, Andrew Bender 3, Zach Dehler 3. Field goals 14-44, 3-pt 5-23, Free throws 2-4, Rebounds 20, Turnovers 16.

Tags: west central area sports, sports, knights, boys, basketball