Boys basketball roundup: Willmar cashes in against NLS at Bremer Classic

Dec. 31—WILLMAR — Khalid Muhumed fueled a double-digit scoring run to help the Willmar Cardinals defeat the New London-Spicer Wildcats 59-52 in the Bremer Bank Holiday Classic on Friday at a roaring Big Red Gym.

Willmar opened up the second half on a 13-0 run to grow its lead to 36-21 over a span of two minutes, 41 seconds. Muhumed scored 11 of the 13 points.

"I was feeling it," Muhumed said. "(The atmosphere) was awesome. It was a good experience. I cannot wait for more of it."

Muhumed finished with 21 points and seven rebounds. Fifteen of his 21 points came in the second half.

A 6-foot-3 senior forward, Muhumed earned Tournament MVP honors. He was the only Willmar player to score at least 20 points in each of the Cardinals' tournament games.

"I'm so proud of him and happy for him because last year he struggled with illnesses," Willmar head coach Jeff Holtkamp said. "He's done a lot for our program this year and he's put so much time in. ... He deserves it."

NLS' largest deficit was 38-23 with 12:40 remaining. Wildcats junior Grant Paffrath cut the Cardinals' lead to 56-52 with 22 seconds left in the game with his third made three.

Willmar senior guard Jacob Streed followed with free throws, making his first and missing his second. Muhumed grabbed Streed's miss and cemented the Cardinals' win with a layup.

"We're developing that winning attitude. Sometimes it's hard to come across wins and that kind of hurts the mindset a little bit," Holtkamp said. "These last three games, we've put together three really solid games on defense. These guys are becoming used to winning and expecting to win and having that mindset that hey, 'we're not going in as underdogs, we can compete.'"

Willmar held NLS to two points through the first 5:52 of the game. The Cardinals also held the Wildcats to two points scored through the first 5:38 of the second half.

"The runs at each half (made the difference). We were playing from behind," NLS head coach Skip Wright said. "Given where we're at, at this point in the season, that was a good test for us.

"It was a fun holiday final. I thought the kids on both sides stepped up and really brought it and made it a fun game for everybody — the coaches, players and fans."

The Cardinals' defense was led by Max Mobley. His effort helped Willmar never trail throughout the game, earning him All-Tournament honors.

"Maybe a couple of years ago we wouldn't have thought this, but we're putting him on the other team's best player every night," Holtkamp said. "He has done a really good job defending and with his length — that's where our defense starts."

Muhumed added, "He's the person that does all the dirty work."

The All-Tournament honors were special for Mobley. The senior forward scored eight of his 10 points in the first half.

"It means everything to me to be honest," Mobley said. "We got some good guys and there are guys on other teams that are really good, too. It means a lot that I made the team.

"That was probably the most fun I've had at a home game in my basketball career."

Other players earning All-Tournament honors are Barnesville's Wyatt Suter, Central Minnesota Christian School's Ethan Bulthuis, Dassel-Cokato's Jackson Schrupp, Lac qui Parle Valley's Kaden Molden, MACCRAY's Isaac Post, Redwood Valley's Lukas Means, NLS' Brycen Christensen and Grant Paffrath, and Willmar's Blake Schoolmeester.

Willmar next plays at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hutchinson. NLS next plays at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at Montevideo.

NLS (3-1) 21 31 — 52

Willmar (4-2) 23 36 — 59

NLS — Scoring: Aedan Andresen 8, Brycen Christensen 12, Mason Delzer 4, Nixon Harrier 4, Grant Paffrath 17, Gabe Rohman 4, Kenneth Schmiesing 3 ... 3-point shots: Christensen 2, Paffrath 3 ... Rebound leaders: Christensen 7, Delzer 6 ... Assist leader: Delzer 2 ... Steal leaders: Paffrath 3, Andresen 2 ... Block leader: Christensen 2

WILLMAR — Scoring: Jacob Streed 3, Max Mobley 10, Simon Radermacher 3, Will Sportel 2, Blake Schoolmeester 16, Khalid Muhumed 21, Sam Raitz 4 ... 3-point shots: Radermacher 1, Schoolmeester 1, Muhumed 1 ... Rebound leaders: Schoolmeester 8, Muhumed 7 ... Assist leaders: Streed 5, Mobley 3, Muhumed 3... Steal leaders: Streed 3, Mobley 2 ... Block leader: none

Carson Hagen led a balanced Barnesville scoring attack with 14 points as the Trojans beat MACCRAY at the Big Red Gym in Willmar.

Wyatt Suter had 13 points, Tate Inniger 11 and Gannon Bolgrean and Zach Bredman each had eight for Barnesville, which led 37-23 at halftime.

Isaac Post had 22 points and Matt Wadsworth added 14 points and three assists for the Wolverines.

MACCRAY faces Dawson-Boyd at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Clara City in a Camden Conference game.

Barnesville (3-0) 37 29 — 66

MACCRAY (5-4) 23 25 — 48

BARNESVILLE — Scoring: Carson Hagen 14, Wyatt Suter 13, Tate Inniger 11, Gannon Bolgrean 8, Zach Bredman 8, Ethan Larson 6, Owen Riddle 4, Isaac Maneval 2 ... 3-point shots: Hagen 4, Inniger 1, Bolgrean 1 ... Rebound leader: Bolgrean 8 ... Assist leader: Bolgrean 9 ... Steal leader: Riddle 3 ... Block leader: none

MACCRAY — Scoring: Matt Wadsworth 14, Isaac Post 22, Riley Roskens 4, Willie Miller 2, Jordan Warne 2, Grayson Ahrenholz 4 ... 3-point shots: Wadsworth 4, Post 2 ... Rebound leader: Warne 6 ... Assist leader: Wadsworth 3, Warne 3 ... Steal leader: Sawyer Janssen 2 ... Block leader: Warne 3

Ethan Bulthuis tallied 25 points, Drew Duininck added 18 and Ryan Harrington had 17 as Central Minnesota Christian beat Redwood Valley at the Big Red Gym in Willmar.

CMCS led 38-33 at halftime.

Ethan Larsen had 21 points, Lukas Means 18 and Oliver Smith 14 for the Cardinals.

The Bluejays play host to Renville County West at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a return to Camden Conference play in Prinsburg.

Redwood Valley (4-4) 33 28 — 61

CMCS (4-2) 38 30 — 68

REDWOOD VALLEY — Scoring: Elijah Larsen 21, Brandon Lang 8, Lukas Means 16, Oliver Smith 14, Elway Berg 2 ... 3-point shots: Lang 2, Means 4, Smith 2 ... Rebound leader: n/a ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

CMCS — Scoring: Ethan Bulthuis 25, Drew Duininck 18, Brayden Marcus 5, Braelin Rime 3, Ryan Harrington 17 ... 3-point shots: Bulthuis 3, Duininck 2, Marcus 1, Rime 1 ... Rebound leader: Bulthuis 17, Harrington 6 ... Assist leaders: Bulthuis 3, Duininck 3, Kadin Demlow 3, Marcus 3 ... Steal leader: Bulthuis 4 ... Block leader: Harrington 2

Dassel-Cokato improved to 6-0 following a victory over Lac qui Parle Valley at the Big Red Gym in Willmar.

The Eagles drop to 2-5. They return to Camden Conference play Tuesday at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg.

Fifth-ranked Cass Lake-Bena needed overtime to knock off No. 3 Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa in a battle of top Class A teams at the Breakdown Granite City Classic at St. Cloud Apollo High School.

The loss included strong efforts from BBE's Kaden Pieper and Lucas Dingmann. Pieper had 34 points on 13-for-25 shooting (52%) to go with six rebounds. Dingmann had 20 points and 18 rebounds.

BBE's next game is against Eden Valley-Watkins in a Central Minnesota Conference contest at 7 p.m. Thursday in Brooten.

Cass Lake-Bena (6-0) 25 35 7 — 67

BBE (3-1) 32 28 4 — 64

CASS LAKE-BENA — Stats not available

BBE — Scoring: Kaden Pieper 34, Hayden Sobiech 2, Matthew Walz 2, Lucas Dingmann 20, Brady Schwinghammer 2, Jamison Reed 4 ... 3-point shots: Dingmann 1 ... Rebound leaders: Dingmann 18, Reed 7, Pieper 6 ... Assist leaders: Dingmann 2, Reed 2 ... Steal leaders: Pieper 1, Illies 1, Dingmann 1, Reed 1 ... Block leader: Dingmann 1

North Woods got the best of BOLD in a high-scoring contest at the Granite City Classic.

The game was played at Sartell High School.

With the loss, BOLD drops to 2-3. North Woods is 6-2.

The Warriors travel to Benson Tuesday for a West Central Conference game.

Litchfield closed out the Crusader Christmas Classic with a loss to Concordia Academy at St. Cloud Cathedral High School.

Alex Draeger had 12 points and Jack McCann and Tucker Liestman each had 11 for the Dragons.

Benjamin Raymond had 23 points and nine rebounds, Kellen Quast added 17 points and Luc Swanson scored 10 for the Beacons, who went 1-2 in the three-day, round-robin tournament.

Litchfield wound up going 2-1 in the tournament. The Dragons play host to Minnewaska at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Litchfield (3-3) 27 27 — 54

Concordia Academy (2-5) 30 41 — 71

LITCHFIELD — Scoring: Alex Draeger 12, Jack McCann 11, Tucker Liestman 11, Garrison Jackman 6, Jacob Dietel 5, Tyler Pennertz 5, Owen Carlson 2, Gavin Thiel 2 ... 3-point shots: Draeger 4, Liestman 3, McCann 3, Jackman 1 ... Rebound leader: McCann 5, Blake Aller 5 ... Assist leader: Aller 4 ... Steal leader: Dietel 2, McCann 2 ... Block leader: Liestman 1, Aller 1

CONCORDIA ACADEMY — Scoring: Benjamin Raymond 23, Kellen Quast 17, Luc Swanson 10, Alfronzo Greene 8, Luke Olson 5, Joshua Ortiz 2, Nicklaus Brunn 2, Erza Hockensmith 2, William Hugo 2 ... 3-point shots: Raymond 3, Quast 5, Swanson 1, Olson 1 ... Rebound leader: Raymond 8 ... Assist leader: Raymond 2, Swanson 2, Olson 2 ... Steal leader: none ... Block leader: Ortiz 1, Greene 1

Gannon Reidinger hit a 15-foot fadeaway at the buzzer to hand Montevideo the victory over Pipestone in the Southwest Minnesota State University Holiday Classic at the R/A Facility at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

The final play came with six seconds left after the Arrows tied the game with a free throw.

"We didn't have a timeout, but we had one of those situations where we put trust in the guys," said Thunder Hawks head coach Derek Webb. "We missed a shot and in the scramble, Gannon came up with it at the left elbow and made it."

Montevideo overcame a 31-25 halftime deficit.

"Pipestone's a really solid team, so it's a big win for our team and program," Webb said. "We're on our way to being one of those teams other teams fear. They hung in there and played great defense down the stretch."

Gannon Reidinger hit a 15-foot jump shot with 15 seconds left to break a 58-58 tie, giving the Thunder Hawks the lead. Reidinger finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots.

Mason Jerve led Montevideo with 19 points.

The Thunder Hawks are scheduled to play Jackson County Central at 2 p.m. Saturday at SMSU.

Montevideo (3-2) 25 35 — 60

Pipestone (4-1) 31 27 — 58

MONTEVIDEO — Scoring: Mason Jerve 19, Gannon Reidinger 11, Carson Boike 9, Cooper Dack 8, Devin Ashling 7, Griffin Epema 4, Gavin Marty 2 ... 3-point shots: Jerve 3, Reidinger 1, Boike 1, Dack 2 ... Rebound leaders: Reidinger 9, Jerve 7... Assist leaders: Dack 5, Reidinger 4, Epema 3 ... Steal leader: Jerve 2, Dack 2 ... Block leader:Reidinger 2

PIPESTONE — Stats not available

Up by just two at halftime, Murray County Central pulled away in the second half to dispatch Renville County West at the SMSU Holiday Classic at the R/A Facility at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall.

Bryce Hoekman and Christian Tentinger led the Rebels with 16 and 14 points, respectively.

Ryan Schrupp paced the Jaguars with 12 points. Adam Schrupp finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

RCW heads to Prinsburg to play Central Minnesota Christian on Tuesday.

Murray County Central (3-1) 18 37 — 55

RCW (0-5) 20 21 — 41

MURRAY COUNTY CENTRAL — Scoring: Tanner Graphenteen 5, Jaden Deacon 3, Aidan Dierks 8, Derek Kluis 5, Carter Lewis 4, Christian Tentinger 14, Bryce Hoekman 16 ... 3-point shots: Deacon 1, Dierks 2 ... Rebound leader: n/a ... Assist leader: n/a ... Steal leader: n/a ... Block leader: n/a

RCW — Scoring: Adam Schrupp 10, Ryan Schrupp 12, Jack Wertish 1, Isaac Haen 4, Javin Mungai 2, Joe Valdovinos 7, Jon Driggs 5 ... 3-point shots: A. Schrupp 1, R. Schrupp 2, Valdovinos 1 ... Rebound leader: A. Schrupp 7 ... Assist leader: Haen 5 ... Steal leader: Valdovinos 3 ... Block leader: Driggs 3