Above The Fold Media | For the Leader; Photo by Shaila Johnson
BALSAM LAKE – An undefeated record continued and a Lakeland West Conference title became just one win away for the Unity boys basketball team.
A pair of wins last week improved the Eagles overall season record to 16-0 and if or when that mark hits 17, they will secure the conference championship.
For the fifth time in as many games, Unity held its opponent to 35 or fewer points, taking a 47-28 win over Turtle Lake at home on Jan. 31. Wyatt Kocurek had a game-high 13 points with seven rebounds for the Eagles; Jaxon Tilton had 10 points with seven rebounds and Jacob Erickson had eight points with eight rebounds.
The same Unity trio then broke out in an 86-64 win over Webster on Friday, despite the efforts of Ian McFaggen. Erickson led the Eagles with 21 points and had 11 rebounds with six assists while Kocurek and Tilton had 20 points each; Kocurek had eight rebounds and Tilton had three steals.
Their scoring provided the depth needed to counter the game-high 32 points from McFaggen, who made nine of his 17 3-point attempts for the Tigers. Rene Wright added nine points for Webster.
Grantsburg 46, Siren 42
The Pirates snapped the Dragons two-game win streak and tied them for second in the Lakeland West with a road win on Friday.
Grantsburg managed just 15 first-half points yet trailed by only two points entering halftime. It more than doubled its scoring in the second half with help from long-range shooting. The Pirates finished 8-for-17 from 3-point range with Jayden Brown accounting for four of those makes.
Brown and Zach Rombach each finished with 14 points and six rebounds for Grantsburg; Dane Lozier had 10 points and four steals while Aaron Burkman had seven points and five steals.
SCF 79, Spooner 44
The Saints snapped a four-game skid with a home win on Friday. Three players scored in double-digits for St. Croix Falls, which outscored Spooner 29-14 in the first half and broke out for 50 second-half points.
Kale Borchert led the Saints with 16 points and seven rebounds; Miles Wilson had 14 points; Aiden Meador had 12 points with eight steals and Drew Lessman had 12 points with eight rebounds.
Shell Lake 50, Frederic 41
Shell Lake built a double-digit first-half lead and the Vikings erase the deficit in Friday’s loss.
The Lakers sank eight of their 3-point attempts in the game and that helped them to a 31-17 first-half lead.
Donovan Larson led Frederic with 14 points; Roman Lahti had nine points and Ben Ones had eight points with 12 rebounds.
Northwood 66, Luck 53
Despite getting a game-high 25 points and 16 rebounds from Ty Roehm, the Cardinals took a road loss on Friday.
The Evergreens went on an 11-2 run in the first half to take a 22-12 lead and eventually went into the break with a 32-22 advantage. They led by as many as 18 in the second half but a pair of 5-0 runs by the Cardinals brought them within 10.
That was the closest Luck would get though, and Northwood secured the win with a 9-0 run down the stretch.
Izaak Nemeth had 11 points and four rebounds for the Cardinals; Zak Walters had 10 points and five assists.
Turtle Lake 50, Webster 42
Turtle Lake limited the Tigers to 17-for-58 shooting from the floor, including a 1-for-18 night from 3-point range in a win at Webster on Thursday.
Webster trailed by just a point at halftime but was held to 19 second-half points.
Felipe Juarez led the Tigers with 10 points; Dominic Ricci had eight points, seven rebounds and four steals; Sawyer Winkler had six points and seven rebounds while Gavin Preston had six points and four rebounds.
C-W 62, SCF 52
The Saints held a lead at halftime but were unable to keep it in the second half of a home loss on Jan. 31.
Drew Lessman led St. Croix Falls to a 29-25 lead before the break and he finished with a team-high 21 points with six rebounds.
The Saints were 12-for-18 from the free throw line but made just two of their 19 3-point attempts and were 17-for-38 from the floor.
Kale Borchert had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Saints; Aiden Meador had six points while Barndon Waak and Miles Wilson had five points each.
Grantsburg 65, Northwood 51
Aaron Burkman and Zach Rombach led the Pirates to a second-half scoring advantage and a home win on Jan. 31.
Burkman had a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds with six steals while Rombach had 18 points, eight assists, six rebounds and five steals for Grantsburg.
The Pirates broke a 29-29 halftime tie by outscoring Northwood 36-22 in the second half and finishing 11-for-16 at the free throw line.
Dan Lozier added 11 points and six rebounds for Grantsburg.
Webster 52, Luck 46
Despite the Cardinals having three players reach double-digit point totals, the Tigers claimed a home win on Jan. 31.
Dominic Ricci had a team-high 12 points for Webster, which started the game with a 7-0 run. Luck recovered and later claimed its first lead with a Zak Walters 3-pointer to give the Cardinals a 15-12 advantage. But another 7-0 run from the Tigers gave them a 19-15 lead and they eventually took a 23-20 advantage into the break.
Webster maintained the lead through the second half, though the Cardinals pulled to within a basket in the final minute. The Tigers hit five free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Felipe Juarez had nine points and six rebounds for Webster; Nathan Jackson had eight points and five rebounds while Gavin Preston had eight points and five rebounds.
Walters led Luck with 19 points; Ty Roehm had 12 points and nine rebounds while Izaak Nemeth had 10 points.
Siren 56, Frederic 43
Fletcher Christianson led a first-half scoring advantage that boosted Siren to a home win on Jan. 31.
Christianson scored the Dragons first 14 points of the game and 19 of his team-high 21 points in the first half, leading them to a 36-15 advantage before halftime.
Ben Ones helped the Vikings to a 9-2 run to start the second half and later scored five consecutive points to pull Frederic to within 11 points at 54-43, but the Vikings could get no closer. Wyatt D’Jock had 12 points for Siren; Nathan Thiex had seven points and Nick Webster had four points with 10 rebounds.
Ones led Frederic with 26 points and 13 rebounds; Roman Lahti had five points and four rebounds
