BENSON -- Joey Fragodt scorched the nets for 40 points and also grabbed 10 rebounds Friday to help Benson reach the final of the Case IH Holiday Tournament as the Braves upended Paynesville 73-69.
Unbeaten Benson (4-0) will face MACCRAY (4-1) today at 7:30 p.m. after the Wolverines wore down Hancock to win the first semifinal Friday, 69-60.
Hancock (0-3) and Paynesville (3-1) will square off at 6 p.m. today in the third-place game.
Benson 73, Paynesville 69
Fragodt scored 20 points in each half and was 17-for-32 from field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line. The senior forward pulled Benson within four at halftime after beating the buzzer with a three-pointer from just inside halfcourt.
ADVERTISEMENT
Eric Lee followed Fragodt with nine points while Benson's other four scorers -- Mitch Enderson, Aaron Lindahl, Brett Collins and Mitchell Kent -- pumped in six apiece.
Ben Moser netted 17 of his 19 points in the first half to help Paynesville take a 38-34 lead into halftime. Cory Nietfeld then paced the Bulldogs in the second half, scoring 20 of his team-high 30 points in the final 18 minutes.
Paynesville (3-1) 38 31 -- 69
Benson (4-0) 34 39 -- 73
PAYNESVILLE - 23-67 FG (6-18 3 pt); 17-23 FT; 30 rebounds; 16 fouls ... Scoring: Colin Spooner 4, Ben Moser 19, Tyler Zimmerman 2, Mitchell Marlow 3, Elliott Wall 3, Cory Nietfeld 30, Nathan Nietfeld 6, Alex Svejkovski 2 ... 3-point shots: Moser 3, Marlow 1, Wall 1, C. Nietfeld 1 ... Rebound leaders: C. Nietfeld 10, Marlow 9 ... Assist leader: N. Nietfeld 5 ... Steal leaders: C. Nietfeld 4, N. Nietfeld 4
BENSON - 31-61 FG (4-12 3 pt); 7-10 FT; 36 rebounds; 17 fouls ... Scoring: Mitch Enderson 6, Aaron Lindahl 6, Brett Collins 6, Daniel Fragodt 40, Mitchell Kent 6, Eric Lee 9 ... 3-point shots: Fragodt 2, Kent 2 ... Rebound leaders: Fragodt 10, John Chevalier 5, Lee 5, Enderson 5 ... Assist leaders: Collins 3, Fragodt 3, Lee 3 ... Steal leaders: Fragodt 5, Collins 3
MACCRAY 69, Hancock 60
MACCRAY was 11-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half, which helped overcome a six-point halftime deficit.
ADVERTISEMENT
Matt Leese poured in a game-high 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Wolverines (4-1). Justin Koenen and Zach Thissen added 13 points each.
Rick Foss tallied 13 points to lead Hancock (0-3). Ben Hacker followed with 11.
MACCRAY (4-1) 31 38 -- 69
Hancock (0-3) 37 23 -- 60
MACCRAY - 27-69 FG (2-3 3 pt); 13-17 FT; 23 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Zach Thissen 13, Justin Koenen 13, Brock Madsen 2, Ben Perry 10, Matt Leese 27, Cody Haas 4 ... 3-point shots: Koenen 2 ... Rebound leaders: Leese 9, Madsen 4, Haas 4 ... Assist leader: Koenen 8 ... Steal leaders: Koenen 4, Thissen 3
HANCOCK - 27-54 FG (4-12 3 pt); 2-3 FT; 22 rebounds; 19 fouls ... Scoring: Derrick Foss 6, Ben Hacker 11, Tanner Gramm 16, Rick Foss 13, Austin Schmidgall 6, Joe Newhouse 8 ... 3-point shots: Hacker 1, Gramm 2, R. Foss 1 ... Rebound leaders: Newhouse 5, Hacker 4 ... Assist leader: Gramm 7 ... Steal leader: D. Foss 4
Non-Conference
GFW 48, Litchfield 46
ADVERTISEMENT
GFW, which made 17-of-23 foul shots, hit five free throws in overtime to seal the victory.
Litchfield was only 7 of 12 from the charity stripe. Mike Bruesewitz led the Dragons (1-2) with a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds. Peter Zender added nine points.
GFW 22 21 5 -- 48
Litchfield (1-2) 28 15 3 -- 46
GIBBON-FAIRFAX-WINTHROP - 13-40 FG (5-11 3 pt); 17-23 FT; 31 rebounds; 10 fouls ... Scoring: Ty Harkness 2, Cody Jackson 7, Andy Melius 4, Sam VanHon 8, Jason Berger 5, Reed Sallstrom 22 ... 3-point shots: Jackson 2, Milius 1, VanHon 1, Berger 1 ... Rebound leaders: VanHon 10, Sallstrom 9 ... Assist leader: Jackson 2 ... Steal leaders: none
LITCHFIELD - 18-47 FG (1-11 3 pt); 7-12 FT; 32 rebounds; 18 fouls ... Scoring: Kent Johnson 7, Peter Zender 9, Jarit Euerle 2, Steve Hendrickson 4, Mike Bruesewitz 10, Calvin Pehle 7, Mike Bredeson 3, Tyler Puckett 4 ... 3-point shots: Johnson 1 ... Rebound leaders: Bruesewitz 15 ... Assist leaders: Bruesewitz 4 ... Steal leaders: Zender 3
