WILLMAR -- Ridgewater got big games out of Cory Nietfeld, Rafael Viana and Travis Schultz to stay in the thick of the MCCC Southern Division playoff hunt with a 89-63 pounding of MSCTC-Fergus Falls in men's basketball action Wednesday.
The Warriors (6-3, 13-10) are in third place after victory.
Also fueling the rout was the memory of a Jan. 12 beating the Warriors took at Fergus Falls, 106-74.
"The team was just so fired up for some revenge because they beat us at their place so bad," said Ridgewater coach Bob Knutson.
Nietfeld scored 21 points and had 19 rebounds for the Warriors and Viana led the team with 22 points and added five rebounds.
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But Schultz, a 6-foot-5 post, made the biggest difference with seven blocked shots. He added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
"Travis is the power man. He's got the strength and tremendous ability to block shots," Knutson said. "He's a great presence for us defensively."
Tom Boike was the fourth Warrior in double figures with 11 points.
Ridgewater hosts Minneapolis at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Ridgewater 89, MSCTC-Fergus Falls 63
Fergus Falls (6-4, 14-9) 33 30 -- 63
Willmar (6-3, 13-10) 38 51 -- 89
MSCTC-FERGUS FALLS - 24-77 FG (6-25 3-pt); 9-15 FT; 46 rebounds; 25 fouls ... Scoring: Scott Stebe 4-13 0-0 11, Cory Stevens 5-14 3-5 14, Bill Bauman 3-8 0-0 6, Clayton Johnson 4-17 0-0 8, Dionte Foster 1-2 3-4 5, Shawn Cariveau 3-6 0-2 8, Brandyn Frelix 1-5 1-2 3, Lance Lee 3-10 2-2 8 ... 3-point shots: Stebe 3-9, Stevens 1-3, Cariveau 2-6 ... Rebound leaders: Stevens 9, Cariveau 5, Frelix 7, Lee 11 ... Assist leaders: Johnson 11 ... Steal leaders: none
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RIDGEWATER - 36-78 FG (3-12 3-pt); 14-27 FT; 58 rebounds; 18 fouls ... Scoring: Tim Dreier 2-8 2-2 7, Ben Moser 3-7 0-0 6, Derek Eisenschenk 4-9 0-2 9, Cory Nietfeld 8-16 5-10 21, Rafael Viana 9-14 4-4 22, Travis Schultz 5-10 0-2 10, Travis Norling 1-1 0-0 3, Tom Boike 4-5 3-7 11 ... 3-point shots: Dreier 1-2, Eisenschenk 1-3, Norling 1-1 ... Rebound leaders: Dreier 6, Nietfeld 19, Viana 5, Schultz 12, Boike 5 ... Assist leaders: Dreier 8
