BOYS BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Trojan boys dominate boards, earn 66-49 victory against Dragons

ADRIAN — Winning the battle on the boards by a commanding 39-19 margin, and playing better team defense in the second half, Worthington defeated Adrian, 66-49, Tuesday night in a key early-season non-conference boys’ basketball battle between a pair of squads with high expectations for this season.

“We played pretty decent,” WHS head coach Ron Vorwald said about the Trojans (2-0), who held double-digit leads much of the game. “Our rebounding effort was solid and we played defense like we wanted to in the second half.”

Balanced scoring was a key factor, too, for the Trojans, who had four players reach double figures.

Travis Meinders (19 points, seven rebounds), Matt King (13 points), Aduo Omot (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Mike Vorwald (11 points, five assists) combined for 55 Worthington points, while Jalen Voss (four points, eight rebounds), Zac Houselog (four points) and Derek Busswitz (three points, three steals) accounted for the remaining 11 points.

The Trojans got off to a quick start — in a fast-paced first half — and held off several Dragon rallies, before tucking the game away by executing their delay game well in the closing minutes.

Adrian (0-1) was paced in scoring by 15 points each by Brian Tjepkes and Nate Reyne. Justin Weidert added seven points for the Dragons, who cut Worthington’s lead under 10 points in each half, but Danny Parsley was held to four points by the defensive effort of Omot.

“Aduo really locked down on Parsley, which was a big key,” praised Vorwald about Omot’s performance on the defensive end. “Our scoring balance and rebounding advantage were positive factors too, but we had way more turnovers than I like.”

The Trojans lost possession of the ball 22 times, while Adrian nearly matched that total, committing 21 turnovers.

Adrian plays at Fulda Friday in its Red Rock Conference opener, while the Trojans travel to Windom for their first Southwest Conference clash.

WHS 42 24 — 66

Adrian 32 17 — 49

WHS (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) Vorwald 3-1-0-11, Meinders 2-5-3-19, Omot 0-5-2-12, Busswitz 0-1-1-3, Houselog 0-2-0-4, King 2-3-1-13, Voss 0-2-0-4. Totals 7-19-7-66.

Adrian (3FG-2FG-FT-TP) Diekmann 0-1-0-2, Springman 0-1-0-2, Tjepkes 2-3-3-15, Parsley 0-1-2-4, Weidert 1-2-0-7, Brake 0-2-0-4, Reyne 0-4-7-15. Totals 3-14-12-49.

W-WG 70, Windom 60

WESTBROOK — Opening the second half with an impressive 18-6 run, the Chargers of Westbrook-Walnut Grove broke open a 37-37 halftime deadlock and claimed a 10-point victory over Windom in a non-conference battle between a pair of old District 7 rivals.

Playing their first game of the season, the Eagles got off to a great start and held a 20-8 lead.

But W-WG’s Pryce Parker came off the bench and netted a trio of 3-pointers (3-for-3) to spark a Charger rally.

Jace Jarmer (18 points, six rebounds), Mason Comnick (14 points) and Jon LeBoutillier (12 points) each finished with double figures for W-WG (2-0), while Josh Merrick and Parker both scored nine timely points in key reserve roles.

Windom, which had a total of 32 turnovers in the contest, was paced by the 26-point production of 6-5 freshman Jake Holt. Jake’s twin brother, Lee, who stands 6-3, added 11 points for the Eagles, who host Worthington Friday night.

The Chargers travel to Round Lake Friday for their Red Rock Conference opener vs. the RL-Brewster Raiders.

Windom 37 23 — 60

W-WG 37 33 — 70

MLC 55, RL-B 42

ROUND LAKE — Working the boards for 18 offensive rebounds, the Mountain Lake Christian Bears earned a 13-point victory over Round Lake-Brewster in a non-conference clash.

Jacon Simon (17), Jordan Holman (16) and Dan Bargen (10) combined for 43 points for the Bears (2-0), who held a 17-point lead at halftime.

Dillon Hansen had a big night for the Raiders (0-1) in their season-opener, as he scored 23 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

RL-B hosts Westbrook-Walnut Grove in the Red Rock Conference opener for both teams Friday.

MLC 32 23 — 55

RL-B 15 27 — 42

JCC 71, ML/B-O 34

JACKSON — Three players scored in double figures to lead Jackson County Central to a non-conference victory against Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin.

Pat Garvin scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Huskies, while Nathan Brandt added 15 points. Matt Kocak had 13 points for JCC.

Cody Adrian had 12 points and five rebounds for the Wolverines, while Steven Herrig added seven points.

ML/B-O will travel to face Murray County Central Friday.

ML/B-O 17 17 — 34

JCC 43 28 — 71

R-T-R 69, Edgerton 54

EDGERTON — Shooting much better in the second half, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights (2-0) overcame a one-point Edgerton halftime lead in non-conference action.

Taylor Newton scored 16 of his game-high 17 points in the second half, leading three other Knights in double figures. Mike Kent, Tyler Solsaa and Brant Etrheim notched 13, 12 and 10 points, respectively, for R-T-R.

Three players scored in double figures for the Flying Dutchmen (0-1) in their season-opener, as Alex Elgersma (12), Codi Gunnink (11) and Chace Hulstein (10) combined for 33 points. Gunnink also claimed 10 rebounds to complete a double-double.

Edgerton plays at cross-town rival Southwest Christian Friday night.

R-T-R 24 45 — 69

Edgerton 25 29 — 54

RWV 71, BOLD 57

OLIVIA — Getting 33 points from Michael Felt and 22 more from J.T. Radel, the Redwood Valley Cardinals (2-0), coached by former Ellsworth mentor Markus Okeson, defeated the Bird Island-Olivia-Lake Lillian District (BOLD) Warriors by pulling away in the second half.

RWV 36 35 — 71

BOLD 32 25 — 57

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