Britton-Hecla won three straight games during the past week and stands at 8-2 on the season.
Coach Troy Knecht’s crew stopped Waubay-Summit 46-41 on Monday, beat Florence-Henry 56-43 on Thursday, and trounced Wilmot 60-28 last week Tuesday.
The Braves played at Warner last night Tuesday and host Leola-Frederick in a doubleheader with the girls squad on Tuesday (C boys 4 p.m., JV boys, girls 5 p.m., varsity girls, varsity boys to follow).
Britton-Hecla 46
Waubay-Summit 41
Britton-Hecla was down a point at halftime, led by two after three quarters, and outscored the visitors 10-7 in the final eight minutes.
Waubay-Summit jumped out to a 17-11 lead early in the second period before the Braves went on a 12-4 run, sparked by treys from Ben Folkman and Jack Teveldal. The Mustangs hit a half court shot at the buzzer to lead 26-25 at intermission.
B-H cranked up the defensive pressure in the third period to force turnovers and Lofton Heer, Will Richter, and Teveldal opened the quarter with three-pointers to give the Braves a 36-28 lead that they would never give up. Waubay-Summit did cut the margin to 36-34 after three quarters anda trialed just 40-37 with 3:20 to play. But Ben Folkman hit his second trey, Mitch Burger netted a pair of charity tosses, and Teveldal added a free throw to keep the visitors at bay.
“Coming in we knew these guys had lost some close games to quality opponents and their record doesn’t reflect their talent,” said Knecht. “They also have some length so we knew this one could be a grinder.
“Defensively we were okay in the first half but had some break downs that let them hang around. The game felt a little slow with a lot more half court work than we are used to. In the third quarter we came out and made a few defensive adjustments as far as where we had our personnel and that seemed to be impactful.
“On the offensive end we won in a way we haven’t all year…heck, maybe ever. We knocked down seven threes and were 13-16 on free-throws. It’s the first time I can remember where the majority of our points weren’t in the paint. I’m hoping we can keep that up as it will really open things up for us on offense.
“If I had a critique of the game for us I’d say it was our offensive rebounding,” Knecht concluded. “Not many second opportunities. Overall though, that’s a satisfying win. We’ve never beaten that team, so that feels good.”
Richter led the Braves with 16 points.
WAUBAY-SUMMIT: Jace Wohlleber 3 0-0 9, Evan Aker 1 0-0 2, Hogan Hlavacek 7 3-3 17, Newton Campbell 2 0-0 4, Tripp Gaikowski 1 1-4 3, McKoy Pereboom 2 0-0 6. Totals 16 4-7 41.
BRITTON-HECLA: Mitch Burger 1 2-2 4, Will Richter 4 6-6 16, Chaz Vietor 2 0-0 5, Jaxon Zuehlke 0 2-4 2, Graham Fosness 1 0-0 2, Ben Folkman 2 0-0 6, Jack Teveldal 2 1-2 6, Lofton Heer 1 0-0 3, Nathan Folkman 0 2-2 2. Totals 13 13-16 46.
WS (3-5) 11 26 34 41
BH (8-2) 11 25 36 46
3-point goals – Wohlleber 3, Perebooom 2; Richter 2, B. Folkman 2, Vietor, Teveldal, Heer. Total fouls – WS 7, BH 12.
Britton-Hecla 56
Florence-Henry 43
Britton-Hecla trailed by four after one period but outscored Florence-Henry 32-14 in the second and third quarters to take control.
“We were without Chaz (Vietor with wrist injury) in this one and for whatever reason we started slower,” said Knecht. “Defensively in that first quarter we gave up 15 points, which is a lot for us. They did hit a three at the buzzer, but regardless of that, we didn’t play well on either end to start the game.
“We were able to cause some turnovers with a little more defensive intensity in the second and third quarters and shot better from the three point line, which is great to see. A lot of that has to do with the right guys taking the right shots, and it was a 40% night for us overall on field goals. Let’s hope that trend continues up.
“We are getting into the meat of our schedule now and I feel like we are getting better,” concluded Knecht. “We need to find a way to get going from the tip-off when we start to face better competition.”
Jaxon Zuehlke led the way with 14 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots. Will Richter chipped in with 11 points, five assists, and three steals, and Jack Teveldal added nine counters with a pair of treys. Nathan Folkman grabbed eight boards and Lofton Heer pulled down five and came up with three steals.
Britton-Hecla 60
Wilmot 28
Britton-Hecla led by just five after one period but outscored Wilmot 16-4 in the second stanza to take control.
“We started a little slow in this one, missed some bunnies early which doesn’t help, but our defense was solid for four quarters,” said Knecht. “We did go on a nice scoring pace after the first period, so that was good to see.”
Wilmot hit a pair of treys to open the game and led 6-2 with three minutes gone. But then the Braves kicked into high gear and went on a 25-4 run to lead 27-10 at halftime. Any thoughts of a Wilmot second half comeback were quickly thwarted when the local cagers went on a 12-5 run to open the third quarter and grabbed a 39-15 advantage.
The Braves defense was the real story of the game.
“There were some pretty alarming statistics on the defensive end,” said Knecht. “We had 40 deflections and forced 38 turnovers. I’m not sure I’ve seen that before. The kids are really doing a good job of playing with active hands and are executing what we want to do on that side of the court.
“We still do need to shoot better and I think we are getting closer,” Knecht concluded. “I like what I’m seeing on the free throw line (14-18). We are trending up there and I just have to believe we will see the ball go in more. The boys are playing hard and are getting better every time out.”
Jack Teveldal had a season-high 15 points, including three of five from three-point land, to lead the Braves, and Mitchell Burger added nine. Graham Fosness had seven rebounds, a pair of assists, and five steals, Will Richter had seven assists and seven steals, and Jaxon Zuehlke added seven boards.
FOR FULL STATS, SEE THIS WEEK'S JOURNAL
