HUTCHINSON - Noah Slagter scored 23 points and pulled in 10 rebounds to guide his Willmar Cardinals to a 75-66 win over Hutchinson Friday night.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 43-32 lead at halftime and held that lead for the remainder of the game. The Tigers outscored the Cardinals in the second half 34-32 but it wasn't enough to overcome the first half deficit.
Though Slagter was the offensive leader, Drey Dirksen set the tone early with aggressive play and a trio of three-pointers in the first half. He finished with 16 points.
It was an even match in many respects but Willmar made the difference at the charity stripe. The Cardinals were 18-of-25 on their free throws while the Tigers were 9-of-12.
Though happy with the win, Willmar head coach Matt Williams said his team has plenty to work on still as Central Lakes Conference play gets set to take over soon.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We need to play better on defense," Williams said. "But we made big stops when we needed to in the second half."
Willmar especially had trouble stopping Hutchinson's Fletcher Vilt who scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on the night. Mitchell Max and Joe Mueller each scored 11 points for the Tigers as well.
Willmar will take on Alexandria at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in Alexandria.
Willmar 75, Hutchinson 66
Willmar........................... 43 32 - 75
Hutchinson............................. 32 34 - 66
Willmar
Scoring: Noah Slagter 23, Drey Dirksen 16, Jacob Minnick 11, Noah Streed 9, Noah Getz 8, Dalton Rambow 4, Colton Murphy 4 ... 3-point shots: Slagter 1, Dirksen 3, Minnick 3 ... Rebound leader: Slagter 10, Dirksen 9 ... Assist leader: Slagter 4 ... Steal leader: Getz 3
ADVERTISEMENT
Hutchinson
Scoring: Fletcher Vilt 22, Mitchell Max 11, Joe Mueller 11, Russell Corrigan 10, Andrew Elliot 8, Mike Kieser 2, Isaiah Gandrud 2 ... 3-point shots: Vilt 5, Max 1, Mueller 3 ... Rebound leader: Vilt 10 ... Assist leader: Corrigan 2 ... Steal leader: Corrigan 1
