That'll do: Redwood hangs around, but Trojan boys win, 73-65
Feb. 10—WORTHINGTON — Five minutes into Worthington High School's boys basketball contest with Redwood Valley Friday night, the rout seemed cued up. The Cardinals started fast, then ran smack dab into the Trojans' superior athleticism in the WHS gym.
It was 21-11 when WHS junior guard Kaleb Knothe made a steal at halfcourt and drove for a layup. Seconds later Zachary Hayenga sunk a 3-point shot and the score was 24-11.
Funny thing happened to the rout. It didn't happen at all. The Cardinals showed staying power, making a late run to trail WHS just 38-35 at halftime. They took the lead early in the second half, 47-46, on a Laiten Goodthunder 3-pointer.
Worthington won the game, 73-65. But the plucky Cardinals were right there at the end.
"They spread the floor pretty well defensively, and they can definitely hit their shot," said Trojans head coach Clint Meyer after the game. "They run their stuff well, and they all can shoot it. And they're all shifty and scrappy, and you gotta keep 'em in front."
The fast, athletic Trojans — who now own a 15-3 record due largely to their defensive prowess, dropped the Cardinals to 9-13 on the 2022-23 season. But Meyer said the game wasn't Worthington's best effort defensively.
"We kind of quit playing for a stretch," he said.
There was one good stretch for WHS in the second half, however. After Meyer called a time-out with 7:21 remaining with his team clinging to a 56-53 lead, the Trojans emerged from the strategy session and scored the next eight points to lead 64-53.
Redwood Valley, still playing hard, closed the gap slightly. But the Trojans kept the visitors at arm's length.
Knothe, after hitting a game-winning shot at the buzzer Tuesday night for a 63-62 win at Pipestone Area, led Worthington with 20 points on Friday, getting nine in the first half and 11 more in the second. Abagotte Opiew and Marenono Opiew both added 12 points.
Isaiah Dow-Hilliard, a slender 6-3 junior, paced Redwood Valley with 23 points. Lukas Means, a short and stocky sophomore, sunk four 3-pointers and finished with 14.
The first 15 points of the game were 3-point shots, giving Redwood Valley a 9-6 advantage. Worthington's Nasim Zeidi hit the first of two 3-point shots around the eight-minute mark of the first half, giving the Cardinals another WHS shooter to worry about. The score was 30-16 in Worthington's favor before Redwood scored 19 of the final 27 points of the first half.
Meyer complimented his defense for making improvements in the second half. But he gave ample credit to Redwood Valley's scrappiness.
"They can come back in a hurry," he said.
Redwood Valley 35 65
Worthington 38 73
REDWOOD VALLEY (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) — Larsen 0-5-0-10, Dow-Hilliard 0-7-9-23, Lang 0-1-0-2, Means 4-0-2-14, O.Smith 1-0-0-3, Irlbeck 0-0-1-1, Goodthunder 1-0-0-3, Berg 3-0-0-9. Totals 9-13-12-65.
WORTHINGTON (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) — Walu 0-1-3-5, A.Opiew 2-2-2-12, M.Opiew 0-3-6-12, Brands 0-1-0-3, Hayenga 3-0-0-9, Zeidi 2-0-0-6, Knothe 1-8-1-20, Swinea 0-3-0-6. Totals 8-18-13-73.
