WILLMAR - Another second half, another worn down opponent for the Willmar boys basketball team.
The Cardinals ran their record to 12-0 and stayed atop of the Central Lakes Conference standings with a 75-65 victory over Fergus Falls on Tuesday at Willmar High School.
Ty Roelofs scored a team-high 19 points and Noah Slagter finished with 13 points and six rebounds to pace the Cardinals. Roelofs punctuated the win with a fastbreak dunk to give Willmar an seven-point lead late in the second half.
The No. 6 Cardinals led for nearly the entirety of the game, but the Otters hung around and trailed by just three points-34-31-at halftime.
Behind the aggressive play of Roelofs and Donald Jurek, who finished with nine points and three assists, Willmar wore down the interior of the Fergus Falls defense and opened up a lead as large as nine points with 13:47 to play.
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The Otters fired away from the perimeter throughout the evening, finishing 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, and found their stroke to cut the lead to 60-57 with less than three minutes to play.
Slagter then hit a pair of free throws and Roelofs came away with a steal on the ensuing possession, leading to a clear lane for a one-handed slam to extend the advantage to 64-57.
The Cardinals were sound at the free throw line down the stretch to secure the win and went 15-for-19 from the stripe. 63 of Willmar's points came in the paint or at the free throw line as it went 27-for-38 on 2-point attempts.
Willmar's Noah Getz scored 10 points, Drey Dirksen scored nine and Jake Evans scored seven points.
Harrison Christensen hit four triples and scored a game-high 21 points for the Otters.
The Cardinals continue their CLC schedule at Sauk Rapids on Friday.
Willmar 75, Fergus Falls 65
Fergus Falls (7-5) 31 34 - 65
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Willmar (12-0) 34 41 - 75
FERGUS FALLS - Scoring: Harrison Christensen 21, Matthew Johnson 17, Nathan Rund 16, Austin Stanislawski 10, Noah Raitz 1 ... 3-point shots: Christensen 4, Johnson 1, Rund 3, Stanislawski 2 ... Rebound leader: Rund 5 ... Assist leader: Johnson 4 ... Steal leader: Johnson 3
WILLMAR - Scoring: Ty Roelofs 19, Noah Slagter 13, Noah Getz 10, Drey Dirksen 9, Donald Jurek 9, Jake Evans 7, Cameron Murphy 4, Ryan Slette 4 ... 3-point shots: Slagter 1, Dirksen 1 ... Rebound leader: Slagter 6, Dirksen 6, Jurek 4 ... Assist leader: Roelofs 4, Dirksen 3 ... Steal leader: Roelofs 3, Slagter 2
