Boys basketball roundup: A sizable issue

WILLMAR — Grayson Grove and Chase Thompson helped Alexandria to a 67-33 victory over Willmar on Friday at the Big Red Gym.

Grove, listed at 6-foot-9, had 22 points and Thompson, 6-7, added 12 for Alexandria, which ranks No. 5 in Class AAA, to extend Willmar’s losing streak to seven games.

“They are a tough team – they have the size and they are quick. It makes that defense really tough to play against,” Willmar head coach Jeff Holtkamp said. “Their length and aggressiveness on that trap — they want you to play fast — and sometimes that creates a lot of turnovers or quick shots that play into their favor.”

Grove and Thompson led Alexandria in what was a strong shooting night at 51.9% from the field. Grove shot 9 of 13 from the field with three 3-pointers and Thompson shot 5 of 8 with two 3-pointers.

Willmar turned the ball over 14 times. Nine went for steals and resulted in some fast break opportunities.

“That’s something we’ll clean up,” Holtkamp said. “I am really confident that we can turn this around the last three or four weeks of the year.”

Willmar senior forward Khalid Muhumed scored a team-high 13 points. Senior forward Max Mobley added eight. Seniors Jacob Streed and Blake Schoolmeester both had seven rebounds.

“The first half I thought we did a good job,” Holtkamp said. “It’s been a tough week for us between Brainerd and Alexandria and I thought the effort both nights was good.”

Brainerd (9-0, 13-3) and Alexandria (8-1, 12-2) sit atop the Central Lakes Conference.

“The guys are working hard,” Holtkamp said. “ There’s no easy game in this conference. You got to come ready to play every night.”

Willmar plays Monticello at 7:15 p.m. Monday at Willmar.

“That should be a good matchup for us,” Holtkamp said. “Hopefully we can get back on track and start the week on a good note.”

Alexandria (12-2)      32   35 — 67
Willmar (6-12)            17   16 — 33

ALEXANDRIA - Scoring: Grayson Grove 22, Chase Thompson 12, Bralyn Steffensmeier 11, Dawson Roderick 9, Mason Witt 6, Jaxon Schoenrock 3, Jacob Balcome 2 … 3-point shots: Grove 3, Thompson 2, Steffensmeier 1, Witt 1, Roderick 1 … Rebound leader: Thompson 7 … Assist leader: Steffensmeier 2, Witt 2 … Steal leader: Steffensmeier 4 ... Block leader: Grove 1

WILLMAR - Scoring: Khalid Muhumed 13, Max Mobley 8, Blake Schoolmeester 4, Jacob Streed 4, Nathan Marthaler 2, Tyler Kowalczyk 2 … 3-point shots: Muhumed 1, Mobley 1 … Rebound leaders: Streed 7, Schoolmeester 7 … Assist leader: Schoolmeester 3 … Steal leaders: Streed 1, Mobley 1 ... Block leader: Lucas Jaramillo 1

Henry Skinner had 15 points, Cole Tauber 13 and Braden Blanchard 11 as Rockford beat visiting New London-Spicer.

NLS fell to 3-4 in the Wright County Conference West Division. Rockford is 4-3.

Aeden Andresen led NLS with 15 points. Grant Paffrath had 12 points and three assists and Brycen Christensen contributed 10 points, two steals and five blocked shots. Mason Delzer had seven points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats.

NLS plays at 7:15 p.m. Monday at Montevideo.

NLS (7-9)                 25   25 — 50
Rockford (10-7)       25   36 — 61

NLS - Scoring: Aedan Andresen 15, Grant Paffrath 12, Brycen Christensen 10, Mason Delzer 7, Nixon Harrier 3, Paul Meier 2, Gabe Rohman 1 … 3-point shots: Paffrath 2, Christensen 1, Harrier 1 … Rebound leader: Delzer 10 … Assist leader: Paffrath 3 … Steal leader: Christensen 2 ... Block leader: Christensen 5

ROCKFORD - Scoring: Braden Blanchard 11, Blake Johnson 6, Ty Kulavik 9, Tristin Scripture 3, Henry Skinner 15, Cole Tauber 13, Logan Vicino 2, Landon Weege Welter 2 … 3-point shots: Scripture 1, Tauber 2 … Rebound leader: Scripture 6 … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: Welter 2 ... Block leader: Scripture 1

Jay Neubert scored 25 points to help Sauk Centre improve to 12-4 against Minnewaska at Glenwood.

The Lakers losing streak now sits at 12 games. Minnewask had two players in the double figures. Hunter Kloos had 18 and PJ Johnson had 12.

Minnewaska plays Benson at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at Benson.

Sauk Centre (12-4)       32   42 — 74
Minnewaska (1-18)       20   35 — 55

SAUK CENTRE - Scoring: Jay Neubert 25, Matthew Warring 19, Ethan Riley 3, Damian Ahrens 8, Ashton Trisko 8, Chad Herickhoff 2, Corey McCoy 3, Hunter Novak 2, Troy Hansen 3, Hunter Broich 1 … 3-point shots: Neubert 4, Ahrens 2, Trisko 1, Warring 4 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a 

MINNEWASKA - Scoring: Hunter Kloos 18, PJ Johnson 12, Tenzin Dahl 9, Alex Panitzke 6, Luke Danielson 5, Levi Johnson 2, Marc Gruber 2, Dylan Alexander 1 … 3-point shots: Kloos 3, Johnson 2, Panitzke 2, Dahl 1 … Rebound leaders: Panitzke 4, Alexander 4 … Assist leader: Alexander 5 … Steal leader: Alexander 3 ... Block leader: none

BOLD extended its winning streak to 11 games behind a 27-point night by Andrew Meyers at Bird Island.

BOLD has won 11 games in a row.

Meyers also had 11 rebounds for the Warriors, who got 12 points and six assists from Ryan King.

BOLD has a 7-3 record in the West Central Conference. Melrose is 6-4.

BOLD plays Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop at 7 p.m. Monday in Bird Island.

Melrose (11-6)      23   21 — 44
BOLD (13-5)         36   23 — 59

MELROSE - Stats not available

BOLD - Scoring: Andrew Meyers 27, Ryan King 12, William Penkert 8, Jack Gross 5, Zane Boen 3, Daylen Weber 3, Brayden Gass 1 … 3-point shots: Penkert 2, Weber 1, King 1, Boen 1 … Rebound leader: Meyers 11 … Assist leader: King 6 … Steal leader: Penkert 4 ... Block leader: Gass 2 

Juan Espinoza’s school record 47 points was not enough to lift Benson over Montevideo at Benson.

The Thunder Hawks had five players score in the double figures. Gannon Reidinger led with 25 points.

Montevideo has won five of its last six games.

“We played really well,” Montevideo head coach Derek Webb said. “Benson shot the ball well early on and we stuck with them.”

Benson plays Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City at 4 p.m. Saturday at Benson. Montevideo plays New London-Spicer at 7:15 p.m. Monday at Montevideo.

Montevideo (9-8)      46   43 — 89
Benson (4-11)           34   41 — 75

MONTEVIDEO - Scoring: Gannon Reidinger 25, Devin Ashling 17, Mason Jerve 15, Carson Boike 12, Cooper Dack 11, Griffin Epema 5, Brody Dack 2, Isaac Day 2  … 3-point shots: Dack 3, Reidinger 1, Ashling 1, Boike 1 … Rebound leader: Reidinger 11 … Assist leader: Dack 5 … Steal leader: Reidinger 3 ... Block leader: Reidinger 1

BENSON - Scoring: Landon Skarsten 6, Lanadreon Goodwin 6, Blake Brehmer 9, Tayte Antolick 3, Juan Espinoza 47, Jaden McCarter 2, Joseph Pagel 2 … 3-point shots: Skarsten 2, Koenig 1, Antolick 1, Espinoza 8 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

Central Minnesota Christian moves to 6-1 in the Camden Conference North Division with a win over Lac qui Parle Valley in Madison.

Ethan Bulthuis paced the Bluejays with 20 points. Ryan Harrington was close behind with 18 points.

CMCS plays Ortonville at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Prinsburg. LQPV plays Dawson-Boyd at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Dawson.

CMCS (12-6)      35   38 — 73
LQPV (6-11)       16   24 — 40

CMCS - Scoring: Ethan Bulthuis 20, Ryan Harrington 18, Micah Asake 12, Drew Duininck 7, Kadin Dehmlow 6, Brayden Marcus 5, Braelin Rime 3, Logan Roelofs 2 … 3-point shots: Asake 2, Bulthuis 2, Dehmlow 1, Marcus 1, Rime 1 … Rebound leader: Marcus 9 … Assist leader: Marcus 5 … Steal leader: Bulthuis 2 ... Block leader: none

LQPV - Stats not available

Brayson Boike’s 18 points helped lead Dawson-Boyd to its ninth straight victory as the Blackjacks beat Renville County West at Renville.

Dawson-Boyd is ranked 15th in Class A. The Blackjacks are now 5-1 in the Camden North. RCW fell to 1-7.

Issac Haen led RCW with 15 points. Ryan Schrupp added 11 points and three assists for the Jaguars.

Dawson-Boyd plays MACCRAY at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Clara City. RCW plays MACCRAY at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Clara City.

Dawson-Boyd (15-3)      27   22 — 67
RCW (2-16)           34   33 — 49

DAWSON-BOYD - Scoring: Brayson Boike 18, Drew Hjelmeland 16, Levi Olson 14, Keegon Wicht 8, Aiden Swenson 6, Carter Bowen 5 … 3-point shots: Olson 2, Boike 1, Hjelmeland 1, Wicht 1 … Rebound leader: n/a … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

RCW - Scoring: Isaac Haen 15, Ryan Schrupp 11, Jaise Miller 7, Jack Wertish 6, Jon Driggs 4, Adam Schrupp 4, Javin Mungai 2 … 3-point shots: R. Schrupp 3, Haen 2 … Rebound leader: Wertish 7 … Assist leader: R. Schrupp 3 … Steal leader: Miller 2 ... Block leader: A. Schrupp 1

DeAndre Holloway scored 26 points to help lift Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg over MACCRAY at Kerkhoven.

KMS, which is 6-2 in the Camden North, had three other players in the double figures — Malaki Lee (12), Hunter Kallstrom (12) and Isaac Rudningen (11).

MACCRAY’s leading scorer was Isaac Post with 17 points.

KMS plays Central Minnesota Christian at 7:30 P.M. Tuesday at Prinsburg. MACCRAY plays Dawson-Boyd at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Clara City.

MACCRAY (8-9)      25   18 — 43
KMS (14-5)              38   27 — 65

MACCRAY - Scoring: Isaac Post 18, Sawyer Janssen 12, Matt Wadsworth 3, Nathan Wieberdink 3, Jordan Warne 3, Willie Miller 2, Juan Del Bosque 2 … 3-point shots: Post 3, Janssen 2 … Rebound leader: Warne 7 … Assist leader: three with 2 … Steal leader: Post 3 ... Block leader: Warne 2 

KMS - Scoring: DeAndre Holloway 26, Malaki Lee 12, Hunter Kallstrom 12, Isaac Rudningen 11, Jacob Walsh 2, Jaiden Henjum 2 … 3-point shots: none … Rebound leader: Kallstrom 10 … Assist leader: Rudningen 2 … Steal leader: Kallstrom 3 ... Block leader: Kallstrom 3 

Ryan Dalager had 27 points to help lead Minneota to the victory over Yellow Medicine East at Minneota.

Maxwell Rost had 13 points and Peyton Sheik added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Vikings.

Bryce Sneller, a 6-foot-6 senior center, led YME with 16 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Archie LaRose, a 6-2 senior guard, added 11 points.

YME plays Russell-Tyler-Ruthton at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Tyler.

YME (5-13)               n/a   n/a — 46
Minneota (6-11)       n/a   n/a — 56

YME - Scoring: Bryce Sneller 16, Archie LaRose 11, Drew Almich 10, Owen Torvik 7, Cody Dahlager 2 … 3-point shots: Almich 2, LaRose 1, Torvik 1 … Rebound leader: Sneller 9 … Assist leader: Sneller 3 … Steal leader: Almich 4 ... Block leader: Sneller 1 

MINNEOTA - Scoring: Ryan Dalager 27, Maxwell Rost 13, Peyton Sheik 10, Sawyer DeSmet 2, Anthony Rybinski 2, Lucas Rybinski 2 … 3-point shots: Dalager 5, Rost 2 … Rebound leader: Sheik 9 … Assist leader: n/a … Steal leader: Sheik 1 … Block leader: n/a

Jonathan Reid led a quintet of Community Christian School players in double figures as the Eagles beat Valley Christian School of Osceola, Wisconsin in Willmar.

Reid had 18 points along with 10 rebounds and six assists. Ben Reinertson and Mark Arnold each had 13 points for the Eagles. David Mulder tacked on 12 points.

CCS plays Immanuel Lutheran at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Immanuel Lutheran School in Mankato.

VC-O                25   25 — 50
CCS (16-2)       37   37 — 74

VC-O - Stats not available

CCS - Scoring: Jonathan Reid 18, Ben Reinertson 13, Mark Arnold 13, David Mulder 12, Kody Tollefsrud 9, Gavin Mulder 6, Sam Mulder 3 … 3-point shots: Reid 1, Reinertson 1, Tollefsrud 1 … Rebound leader: Reid 10, G. Mulder 10 … Assist leader: Reid 6, Arnold 6 … Steal leader: Reid 2, Reinertson 2 ... Block leader: G. Mulder 3