The West Central Area boys basketball team (8-4) beat Hancock (10-4) 62-58 on Jan. 28 on the Knights’ home court. On Monday, the Owls returned the favor in an equally-as close game between the two Section 6A-South contenders.

Hancock held WCA to its second lowest point total of the season and rallied late for a 48-46 win. The Knights were clinging to a 46-43 lead when Hancock’s 6-foot, 7-inch junior forward Matt Thompson hit a three with 46 seconds left to tie it.

Thompson then put the game away with a steal on the next possession before hitting a runner with 4.6 seconds left. He finished with a game-high 22 points, while senior forward Brady Reeve had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Knights.

“This is one of those games that really stings,” WCA head coach Kraig Hunter said. "We were in control just about the entire game. Our kids showed a lot of grit and played a good game in a tough environment. Matt Thompson made some tough, clutch plays in the last minute. That is why he is regarded as the top player in our section. It was an outstanding high school basketball game with two teams that both competed very hard."

HANCOCK 48, WCA 46

TOTALS - WCA - FG - 14-38; Three-point FG - 3-16; FT - 15-17; Rebounds - 30; Turnovers - 14; Hancock - FG - 18-50; Three-point FG - 4-19; FT - 8-11; Rebounds - 30; Turnovers - 10

WCA - Ryder Staples - 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists; Brady Reeve - 10 points, 10 rebounds; Tate Christenson - 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists; Grant Beuckens - 8 points; Cole Anderson - 3 points, 3 rebounds; Jacob Strunk - 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals; Cam Anderson - 2 points

HANCOCK SCORING - Matt Thompson - 22; Kody Berget - 11; Preston Rohloff - 10; Brandon Kellenberger - 5

Second-ranked Arrows score season-high 91

Ashby’s depth was on full display on Monday as the Arrows (13-0) put up a season high in points in a 91-65 win over Battle Lake (3-11).

Ashby, ranked second in the Minnesota Basketball News Feb. 24 Class A polls, put four in double figures as Hunter Norby and Torin Olson led the way with 26 and 25, respectively. Jacob Cook added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists, and Derrek Bartz had 11 points.

The Arrows trailed by one with almost 10 minutes left in the first half when they went on a 31-12 run going into the break. Their 32-of-56 shooting overall negated a 26-point night from Battlers’ sophomore Drew Johnson. Battle Lake knocked down 11-of-25 threes overall.

Ashby heads to Ortonville (2-10) on Tuesday night for a Section 6A game before welcoming in Upsala (10-3) on Friday night. Both games have 7:30 tips.

ASHBY 91, BATTLE LAKE 65

ASHBY - Derrek Bartz - 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Hunter Norby - 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals; Torin Olson - 25 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals; Jacob Cook - 15 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals; Ashton Ecker - 2 points, 2 assists; Bobby Anderson - 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist; Jaden Norby - 5 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals; Miles Hoff - 4 points, 1 assist; Carson Spangler - 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Colby Finkelson - 1 rebound; Zach Buck - 2 rebounds, 1 assists

Lakers drop third straight

Minnewaska (6-7) dropped a third straight game on Monday night as Pipestone (6-7) won 59-54 in a non-conference contest.

Dawson Kellen led the way for the Bulldogs with a game-high 25 points, while Aaron Lingen added 12 on four made threes in the second half that helped lead Pipestone back from a 31-28 deficit at the break. Peyton Johnsrud had 18 for the Lakers, and Aaron Ver Steeg added 15 points and 11 rebounds.

MINNEWASKA 31 23 - 54

PIPESTONE 28 31 - 59

MINNEWASKA TOTALS - FG - 20-43; Three-point FG - 3-15; FT - 11-15; Assists - 8; Blocks - 3; Rebounds - 22; Steals - 4; Turnovers - 12

MINNEWASKA - Peyton Johnsrud - 18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal; Mitchell Gruber - 2 rebounds; Sam Hested - 7 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal; Damon Uhde - 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steal; Aaron Ver Steeg - 15 points, 1 assist, 11 rebounds; Hunter Kostelecky - 3 points, 1 steal; Brady Hoffman - 9 points, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 4 rebounds

Scores from Monday, March 1

(Stats not yet available)

Alexandria (13-1) 53, Sauk Rapids-Rice (8-5) 43

Hillcrest Lutheran Academy (9-5) 59, Brandon-Evansville (4-10) 47

Parkers Prairie (10-3) 83, Swanville (5-9) 56