It was a tough week for the Britton-Hecla boys basketball squad as the Braves dropped three straight decisions to Lennox 66-18 in the Dak12-NEC Clash in Madison on Saturday, 59-53 at Aberdeen Roncalli on Thursday, and 47-33 to Leola-Frederick last week Tuesday.
Coach Troy Knecht’s club took a 9-5 mark into a game with Sisseton last night Tuesday, will host Langford Area in a twin bill with the girls on Friday (JV boys, JV girls 5 p.m., varsity girls, varsity boys to follow) and travel to Clark for a doubleheader on Tuesday to tangle with the third-ranked Cyclones.
Lennox 66
Britton-Hecla 18
Lennox charged out to an 18-point halftime lead and the Braves managed just two points in each of the third and fourth quarters.
“Lennox is a different physical beast,” said Knecht. We were down Graham and Chaz to injuries and that didn’t help but we were outclassed in many different ways in this one. The size and speed and aggressiveness that Lennox put on the court was too much for us.
“The first quarter was tough but in the second quarter I felt like we started to compete more and made some adjustments to their pressure,” Knecht added. “That was a 15-10 quarter, so we didn’t win it, but we competed. I think the guys can take some things away from this that will help us the rest of the way. It was a lesson in aggressiveness and athleticism. We need to take a more aggressive approach to our games and we will. As far as the program goes big picture…we need to live in the weight room and when we’re not in the weight room we need to be in the gym. It matters.”
Will Richter netted seven points and Nathan Folkman added six for the Braves, who shot just 19% from the field. Jaxon Zuehlke had five rebounds and Lofton Heer grabbed four. Mitch Burger had three assists.
Aberdeen Roncalli 59
Britton-Hecla 53
The Braves battled Roncalli to a 19-all halftime tie but were outscored 21-16 in the third quarter and were not able to make up that deficit.
Will Richter pumped in 20 points and Mitch Burger and Chaz Vietor added nine each. Vietor grabbed six rebounds and Jaxon Zuehlke had five. Jack Teveldal was credited with five assists and three steals.
“Against Roncalli we had a great defensive first half,” noted Knecht. “They had five three-pointers, a goal tending call that was questionable, and a couple free throws, but we couldn’t score the ball effectively and it was a 19-19 tie. It felt like we were in control but that wasn’t the reality.
“We lost Graham Fosness in the first quarter to a knee injury and that hurt us. Early in the fourth we lost Chaz Vietor to an ankle sprain so that was another blow. The boys fought and made it a close game but Roncalli made free throws down the stretch to seal it. We are going to have to be tough here because our schedule is brutal and we are down a few guys at the moment. Hopefully we can get some more shots to go through and the ball to bounce our way more often as we finish out the schedule.”
Britton-Hecla 33
It looked to be a classic matchup between Britton-Hecla and Leola-Frederick with both clubs sporting 9-2 records, but it turned out that it just wasn’t the Braves’ night.
Mitchell Burger opened the game with a three-pointer on the Braves’ first possession but that would be Britton-Hecla’s only lead of the contest. The visitors went on a 19-6 run to lead 19-9 two minutes into the second stanza. B-H cut the lead to 19-14 on a pair of Nathan Folkman free tosses and a three-point play from Chaz Vietor, but the Braves could never get any closer.
Leola-Frederick stretched a 10-point halftime lead to 16 after three quarters and was up by 24 with 5:15 remaining in the contest. B-H reserves cut into that margin in the waning moments but the Titans were never threatened.
Mitch Burger led the Braves with nine points.
“This one is fairly simple to assess,” said Knecht. “We attempted six more field goals then they did but we shot 26% and they shot 50%. We also won at the free throw line, turned it over three times less than they did and had 20 deflections in our defense.
“Bottom line for us is we have to be more aggressive in transition to try and get some easy buckets off of our steals and we have to make shots in the half court,” Knecht noted. “I also think we can be more urgent at the beginning of games. We need to work on the effort stuff and clean up a few things to make sure we are controlling all of the controlables. From there shots need to go in.”
Mitch Burger led the Braves with nine points. Chaz Vietor hauled in six boards and Jace Rein had two assists and a pair of steals.
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