Boys' basketball: Ashby suffers first loss of the season

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The sixth-ranked Ashby boys’ basketball team dropped its first game of the season against undefeated Battle Lake in a 51-44 game on Tuesday night.

The game pitted the top two teams in the Little Eight Conference against each other in the first of two games this season against each other. The Battlers (10-0, 4-0) built a 30-18 lead by the break and held on late to take an early edge in the conference standings.

“I give Battle Lake a lot of credit tonight,” Ashby head coach Jeremy Knick said. “They played hard, and they wanted the win much more than we did.”

The Arrows had to exert a lot of energy to get back in the game in the second half. They tied things up at 39 apiece with about three minutes left, but couldn’t get over the hump. Battle Lake responded with a 12-5 run down the stretch to hold on for the win.

The Arrows were held to their lowest point total of the season and more than 31 points below their previous season average. Riley Mickelson had 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Blake Ohren added 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. They were the only two players in double figures for Ashby.

“Our guys weren’t on the same page on offense tonight,” Knick said. “We didn’t really play as a team on that side of the ball. Defensively, we picked it up in the second half, which really helped us get back in the game, but it was our decisions on offense that really cost us the game.”

The Arrows fell to 8-1 on the season and 3-1 in the LEC. They will get a second shot at Battle Lake when the two teams meet again on February 17 in Battle Lake.

GAME STATISTICS

BATTLE LAKE 30 21 – 51

ASHBY 18 26 – 44

ASHBY – Mickelson – 18 points, 11 rebounds; Ohren – 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks; Tanner Langlie – 7 points, 4 rebounds; Jon Quernemoen – 8 assists

MINNEWASKA 79, ALBANY 67

The Minnewaska boys’ basketball team got its third win of the season in a 79-67 game against Albany on Tuesday night.

The Lakers had four players in double figures as they built a 44-27 lead by the half and never looked back. Andrew Ostrander led the way with 19 points. Blake Johnsrud and Austin Ostrander each had 17, while Trenton Noetzelman added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

GAME STATISTICS

ALBANY 27 40 – 67

MINNEWASKA 44 35 – 79

MINNEWASKA – Johnsrud – 17 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block; Jeff Pooler – 2 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal; Trenton Noetzelman – 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals; Austin Giese – 9 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Austin Ostrander – 17 points, 1 assist, 4 rebounds; Lucas Anderson – 5 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds; Jayden Beecher – 1 assist; Riley Hurst – 1 rebound; Andrew Ostrander – 19 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds

ALBANY – Tony Harlander – 8; Brett Fischer – 6; Cody Stich – 5; Zach King – 8; Dylan Shay – 9; Tony Schoenberg – 3; Scott Litchy – 24; Zachary Raeker – 4

PANTHERS FALL

The Parkers Prairie boys’ basketball team dropped its fourth straight game with a 61-43 loss to Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Tuesday night.

The Comets shot 43 percent from the field, led by Daniel Nersten’s 26 points. The loss dropped the Panthers to 3-8 on the season.

Tags: ashby sports, sports, arrow, boys, basketball