NLS cruises past Fond du Lac
WILLMAR -- New London-Spicer, as expected, breezed into tonight's championship game of the Bremer Bank Holiday Classic with a 97-53 win over Fond du Lac Ojibwe School of Cloquet on Saturday night.
But credit must be given to the Ogichida, which translates as Warriors.
Seven players and two coaches needed 6½ hours on snow-covered highways for the opportunity to play the No. 2 team in Class AA. They were no match but then the Ogichida aren't the first team this winter to get destroyed by the Wildcats, now 8-0.
"We had no team basketball tonight," said disgruntled Fond du Lac head coach Andrew Depoe. "We'll talk about this on the bus. They'll be back and ready to go on Monday."
That's when the Ogichida (3-5) will play the Benson Braves at 6 p.m. in the consolation final.
Marks said despite the snow the team would make the bus trip back to Cloquet Saturday night.
The Wildcats placed four players in double figures: Aaron Johnson with 22, Justin Zylstra with 19, Aaron Jenny at 16 and Jake Essler with 13. The latter started at point guard for Jayme Moten, who is out two more weeks with a fractured bone in his left hand.
NLS, which led 61-32 at intermission, shot 59 percent (40 of 68) from the field. With 80 points already posted, NLS pulled the ball out to the perimeter with 13 minutes left in the game.
Trevor Brown, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, scored 13 of the Ogichidas' first 14 points and finished with 22, including four three-pointers. Lee St. John added 12 points and 6-4 junior Travis Brown, the team's only inside threat, had 11 points.
New London-Spicer 97, Fond du Lac 53
Fond du Lac (3-5) 32 21 -- 53
N.L. Spicer (8-0) 61 36 -- 97
FOND DU LAC - 20-49 FG (7-16 3-pt); 6-9 FT; 24 rebounds; 13 fouls ... Scoring: Lee St. John 12, Dewey Dupuis 3, Travis Brown 11, Trevor Brown 22, Trevontae Brown 3k, Scott Abramowski 2 ... 3-point shots: Trevor Borwn 4, Trevontae Brown 1 ... Rebound leaders: Trevor Brown 5, Abramowski 5, Dupuis 4 ... Assist leaders: St. John 3 ... Steal leaders: none
NEW LONDON-SPICER - 40-68 FG (4-13 3-pt); 11-17 FT; 38 rebounds; 14 fouls ... Scoring: Derek Henle 2, Aaron Jenny 16, Jake Essler 13, Erik Tengwall 9, Dallen O'Brien 3, Austin Cuka 5, Brandon Zylstra 8, Justin Zylstra 19, Aaron Johnson 22 ... 3-point shots: Essler 3, Tengwall 1 ... Rebound leaders: Jenny 6, J. Zylstra 7, Johnson 5 ... Assist leaders: Henle 4, Essler 4 ... Steal leaders: J. Zylstra 3, Jenny 3
