Area boys' basketball: Arrows cruise, Knights split, Lakers win

The Ashby boys are playing a confident brand of basketball right now after winning their fourth straight game on Monday night in a 76-44 rout of Henning.

The Arrows dominated from the get-go against the Hornets. They jumped out to a 45-21 lead by the half and never looked back behind four players in double figures.

Center Riley Mickelson once again finished with a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Tanner Langlie and Blake Ohren had 14 apiece, while Mason Johnson poured in 10.

“I was really impressed with the way the guys played tonight,” Ashby head coach Jeremy Knick said. “We were very unselfish with the ball and only turned it over four times. Our guards were aggressive and did a nice job driving into the lane to create a lot of open looks. Defensively, we did a good job contesting shots, and we never let them get into any sort of rhythm. The guys put two solid halves of basketball together.”

The win moved the Arrows to 9-5 overall and 4-3 in the Little Eight Conference. They will carry the momentum of that winning streak into a match-up against the top team in the LEC tonight, Friday, when Ashby welcomes undefeated Battle Lake to town.

GAME STATISTICS

ASHBY 45 31 – 76

HENNING 21 23 – 44

ASHBY – Mickelson – 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tanner Langlie – 14 points; Blake Ohren – 14 points; Mason Johnson – 10 points; J.P. Moe – 6 assists; Jon Quernemoen – 9 points, 4 assists

HENNING – Jacob Smith – 15 points

West Central Area boys split

The West Central Area boys led for the first 32 minutes of the game before watching Hawley bounce back in the final minutes to secure a 63-58 win on Tuesday night.

The Nuggets’ Devin Pekas helped complete the comeback. The sophomore guard hit two threes, one that tied the game and one that gave his team its first lead at 56-53 with about four minutes left. Hawley used that momentum to carry it to its 11th win of the season.

“We played very well tonight in a lot of areas,” WCA head coach Kraig Hunter said. “But as has been the case in a lot of games this year, we just can’t get over the hump at the end of games.”

The Nuggets were led by Kevin Olson’s 17 points and 12 rebounds. Pekas added 15 points, while Brett Severson had 10 points and eight boards.

Beau Kashmark did a little bit of everything for the Knights. He finished with 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Christian Hammer added 13, as well.

GAME STATISTICS

WCA 34 24 – 58

HAWLEY 30 33 – 63

TEAM STATISTICS – WCA – Rebounds – 32; Field goals – 19-49; Three-point field goals – 5-13; Free throws – 15-25; Turnovers – 13; Hawley – Rebounds – 41; Field goals – 24-60; Three-point field goals – 5-20; Free throws – 10-21; Turnovers – 13

WCA – B. Kashmark – 28 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists; Hammer – 13 points, 2 steals; Colton Blascyk – 7 points; Drew Peterson – 4 points; Jake Boeddeker – 4 points; Bryan Starner – 2 points

HAWLEY – Kevin Olson – 17 points; Pekas – 15 points; Severson – 10 points, 8 rebounds; Riley Burns – 6 points; Luke Van Havermaet – 5 points; Greg Clute – 4 points; Keifer Hinrichs – 3 points; Nick Bjorndahl – 2 points; Josh Johnson – 1 point

Knights top Frazee

The West Central Area boys’ basketball team broke out in a big way just three days after being held to its season-low point total against Perham.

The Knights rolled over Frazee in an 84-51 game after putting up just 13 points earlier in the week. Beau Kashmark and Christian Hammer led the offense with 21 points each. Kashmark added 12 rebounds and five assists, while Colton Blascyk poured in 13 points.

“We played with a lot of energy and moved the ball well,” head coach Kraig Hunter said.

They did that from the get-go, outscoring Frazee 27-2 to start the game. The Knights showed 51 percent from the field (32-63) and hit eight threes on the night. They improved to 6-9 overall and 2-6 in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference with the win.

GAME STATISTICS

WCA 46 38 – 84

FRAZEE 27 24 – 51

TEAM STATISTICS – WCA – Rebounds – 42; Turnovers – 12; Field goals – 32-63; Three-point field goals – 8-21; Free throws – 12-19; Fouls – 19; Frazee – Rebounds – 22; Turnovers – 21; Field goals – 18-55; Three-point field goals – 4-15; Free throws – 11-19; Fouls – 18

WCA – B. Kashmark – 21 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists; Hammer – 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Colton Blascyk – 13 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals; Bryan Starner – 8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals; Christian Thomasy – 6 points; Jake Boeddeker – 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; Dakotah Kashmark – 4 points, 3 assists; Drew Peterson – 3 points, 4 assists, 3 steals; Carson Hunter – 2 points; Neil Hyttsten – 2 points

FRAZEE – Dan Janu – 15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks; Matt Brower – 8 points; Beau Hanson – 8 points; Storm Green – 6 points; Zach Ziegler – 5 points; Chris Burt – 4 points; Cody Nordquist – 4 points; Cody Wokasch – 1 point

Minnewaska holds off Morris

The Minnewaska boys’ basketball team found a way to pick up another win by outlasting Morris Area 68-59 on Tuesday night.

The Lakers hit some late free throws to seal the game after the two teams went into the half tied at 25 apiece. Minnewaska came out in the second half and put up 43 points behind an outburst from Brady Johnsrud. The senior guard had 21 of his game-high 25 points in the final 18 minutes. Shane Bosek and Trenton Berg added 20 and 12, respectively.

The Lakers had a chance to run away with things in the second half. They led by 12 before turnovers allowed Morris to stick around. Minnewaska gave the ball away 24 times.

The Tigers put four players in double figures. Cole Riley led the way with 16.

GAME STATISTICS

MORRIS AREA 25 34 – 59

MINNEWASKA 25 43 – 68

TEAM STATISTICS – Minnewaska – Field goals – 24-45; Three-point field goals – 3-11; Free throws – 17-25; Assists – 14; Rebounds – 22; Steals – 18; Blocks – 2; Turnovers – 24

MINNEWASKA – Bosek – 20 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block; Brady Johnsrud – 25 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block; Michael Nielsen – 2 rebounds, 3 steals; Ben Peters – 4 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds, 1 steal; Blake Johnsrud – 3 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Andrew Ostrander – 4 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals; Trenton Berg – 12 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 4 steals

MORRIS AREA – Brody Bahr – 2 points; Cody Cannon – 5 points; Tyler Roske – 11 points; Eric Riley – 14 points; Mac Kampmeier – 11 points; Cole Riley – 16 points

Tags: ashby sports, west central area sports, minnewaska sports, area sports, sports, home, team, arrows, knights, lakers, boys, basketball