The St. Cloud Tech Tigers handed the Alexandria boys basketball team’s first Section 8AAA loss of the season on Thursday at it beat the Cardinals 67-57 in Alexandria.
St. Cloud Tech, the defending section champions, held Alexandria (12-4, 8-1 Section 8AAA) to 2-of-11 shooting from three-point range and forced 22 turnovers.
Alexandria beat St. Cloud earlier this season, 81-66, on Dec. 16, 2022.
Grayson Grove had a double-double for Alexandria on Thursday with 26 points and 11 rebounds, while Chase Thompson had 15 points and eight rebounds. Jaxon Schoenrock had three points, three rebounds, four assists, and four deflections in Alexandria’s loss.
Thursday’s 57 points are Alexandria’s lowest output so far this season, and it's the first this season that Alexandria has been held to less than 64 points this year.
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Alexandria has a quick turnaround as it hosts Bemidji (12-7) on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
ALEXANDRIA TEAM STATS - FG - 20-42; 3-PT - 2-11; FT - 15-24; Rebounds - 30; Assists - 14; Turnovers - 22; Deflections - 10; Steals - 8; Blocks - 5
ALEXANDRIA PLAYER STATS - Trevin Hoepner - 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 deflections; Bralyn Steffensmeier - 7 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 deflections, 3 steals; Grayson Grove - 26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks; Chase Thompson - 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals; Jaxon Schoenrock - 3 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 deflections, 1 steal, 1 block; Dawson Roderick - 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 deflections, 1 steal; Jacob Balcome - 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist; Mason Witt - 2 points
Osakis girls shut down Browerville-Eagle Valley
With a dominant defensive win, 55-27, over Browerville-Eagle Valley on Thursday, the Osakis girls have locked up at least a share of the Prairie Conference title.
“From start to finish, I thought the girls played with the intensity and focus needed to win the game,” Osakis head coach Pat Kalpin said. “Their competitiveness was at its highest level, and they played one of their best games collectively this season. It was fun to see the girls work the ball together offensively for good shots all night. Defensively we did a good job of fighting the ball screens and didn't let that wear us down. In the end, we took care of the ball, played good defense, and rebounded well. All those things we have been focusing on these past couple of weeks.”
Osakis is 10-10 on the year and has the best conference record (6-1). Upsala (11-10, 5-2 Prairie) is one game behind Osakis in the conference standings.
Osakis held B-EV (10-12, 5-3 Prairie) to 27.6 percent shooting from the field (8-of-29) on Thursday.
Greta Faber had a solid all-around game for the Silverstreaks as she finished with six rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals.
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Carlee Muenzhuber led the Osakis scoring with 15, while Taylor Dirkes added 10, Maggie Dirkes had nine, and Bella Weisser had eight.
Osakis hosts Menagha (10-9) for Senior/Parents night on Friday at 7:15 p.m.
Browerville-Eagle Valley - 14 13 - 27
Osakis - 29 26 - 55
OSAKIS TEAM STATS - FG - 22-55; 3-PT - 10-26; FT - 1-3; Rebounds - 27; Assists - 17; Deflections - 6; Steals - 11; Blocks - 1; Turnovers - 7; Fouls - 12
OSAKIS PLAYER STATS - Hailey Walker - 4 points; Madeline Anderson - 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steals, 1 blocks; Greta Faber - 6 rebounds, 10 assists, 4 steals; Taylor Dirkes - 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Kaelyn Walker 1 assist; Bella Weisser - 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 deflections, 2 steals; Kiana Kendall - 1 rebound, 1 steal; Carlee Muenzhuber - 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 deflection, 1 steal; Kiley Kranz - 4 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist; Harley Tulio - 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Dariana Meyer - 3 points; Maggie Dirkes - 9 points, 2 rebounds
Mason Arens' double-double helps Parkers Prairie boys down B-E
Mason Arens had a big night for the Parkers Prairie Panthers as he had 30 points and 12 rebounds, along with four steals and two blocks. Parkers Prairie won the game 77-43.
“Parkers Prairie played harder, were more physical, and earned the win,” B-E head coach Trent Hintermeister said. “We knew what we needed to do to win and didn't do a good enough job executing.”
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B-E beat Parkers Prairie 68-64 in overtime in Parkers Prairie on Jan. 24, 2023.
Along with Arens’ 30 points, Dylan Debilzen had 18 points for the Panthers on Thursday, while Cohen Noska had seven points, and Ben Harrington, Ross Kortenbusch, and Hunter Holte had four points. Ryder Ashbaugh and Jacob Swedal had three points, while Mason Mittag had two points.
Nathan Anderson led B-E in scoring with 12 points, while Dezmond White had seven and both Micah Fuller and Tanner Riedel had five. Riley Perleberg finished with four points, Kian Gackle and Aaron Gillespie had three points, and Carter White and Brady Perleberg had two points.
B-E (5-13, 6-9 Section 6A) hosts Underwood (9-9, 7-8 Section 6A) on Friday at 7:15 p.m., while Parkers Prairie (7-9, 4-9 Section 6A) hosts Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (14-4, 11-4 Section 6A) at 7:15 p.m.
W-H-N tops B-E girls
In their first meeting of the season on Jan. 10, 2023, the Wheaton-Herman-Norcross Warriors earned a big 81-51 win over the Brandon-Evansville Chargers.
The second time around, things were much closer, but WHN still pulled out a 63-50 win on Thursday to improve to 11-10 (10-6 Section 6A).
“We had a much better effort here against WHN,” B-E head coach Steve Schreiber said. “We focused on shutting down the post play and did much better. It was a great offensive showing by Haddy Baune and a great defense effort by Kylee Dingwall in the post.”
Haddy Baune led B-E in scoring with 16 points, while Sydney Schaefer had nine points.
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B-E (7-13, 5-11 Section 6A) plays at Ashby (1-20, 1-16 Section 6A) on Monday.
W-H-N - 28 35 - 63
B-E - 19 31 - 50
B-E SCORING - Taylor Dingwall, 2 points; Skylar Bitzan, 5 points; Sydney Schaefer, 9 points; EmmaLee Brethorst, 7 points; Ava Santjer, 5 points; Haddy Baune, 16 points, Kylee Dingwall, 4 points, Mia Emter, 2 points
Melrose makes the plays late to sink WCA boys
With some made free throws down the stretch, the Melrose Area Dutchmen (12-7, 7-4 West Central Conference) earned a 58-49 victory over the West Central Area boys (13-7, 7-4 WCC) on Thursday.
"We did a lot of things well and competed hard,” WCA head coach Kraig Hunter said. “Every possession is so important in games like this, and Melrose was able to make a few more plays."
Cole Anderson led the WCA offense with 16 points, while Ben Bye and Bryce Kjesbo each had nine points. Mitch Dewey had eight points, Jacob Strunk has six, and Damon Sanstead had one.
Bye grabbed seven rebounds, while Strunk grabbed five and had three assists. Sam Hanson had a team-high three steals and took two charges.
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WCA plays at 7:15 p.m. on Friday at Ashby (5-11).
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