TROJAN BOYS BASKETBALL: Worthington holds off Pipestone Area in SWC battle

PIPESTONE — Despite frigid free-throw shooting, Worthington edged Pipestone Area 56-53 in a Southwest Conference boys basketball game Thursday.

The Trojans, who improved to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in league play, bounced back from last week’s two-game home losing streak to SWC rivals Luverne and Marshall with a road victory against the Arrows.

“I thought we played hard, but we didn’t shoot the ball very well,” Worthington head coach Ron Vorwald said. “(Pipestone) alternated between 2-3 and 3-2 zones and we couldn’t put the ball in the hole from the perimeter and from the free throw line.”

Worthington ended up making 11 of 28 free-throw attempts, while Pipestone Area finished 5 of 14 at the charity stripe.

Vorwald said he was proud of the Trojans’ man-to-man defense.

“If we would have made our free throws, we would have won easily, but we didn’t make them and it was a struggle,” Vorwald said.

WHS built a 30-17 lead after 18 minutes, but the Arrows were able to close their gap in the second half from beyond the 3-point arc.

Junior Spencer Grafing led Worthington with 17 points after knocking down three 3-pointers in the game. He was one of four Trojans to score in double figures.

Morgan Traylor collected 16 points and a team-leading eight rebounds for the Trojans, while Will Dudley (11 points, seven rebounds) and Marcus Potter (10 points, four assists) also added to Worthington’s attack.

Boyer Bouman and Collin Moeller each produced 14 points for Pipestone Area, which dropped to 2-4 overall and 0-4 against the SWC. Coby Ploeger chipped in nine points.

The Trojans are idle until Thursday, when Worthington hosts Sibley East at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals of the Daily Globe-Trojan Holiday Classic. The Arrows travel to Gregory, S.D., to play Deubrook at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

Worthington 56,

Pipestone Area 53,

Worthington (3-2, 2-2): Vander Veen 0-1-1, Dudley 5-1-11, Potter 3-4-10, Gravenhof 0-1-1, Traylor 6-4-16, Grafing 7-0-17. Totals: 21-11-56.

Pipestone Area (2-4, 0-4): Freese 3-0-6, Bouman 6-0-14, Ploeger 2-3-9, Johnson 2-0-4, Buffington 2-0-4, Moeller 6-2-14, Bucher 1-0-2. Totals: 22-5-53.

Halftime: Worthington 30, Pipestone Area 17. 3-point goals: Worthington 3 (Grafing 3); Pipestone Area 4 (Bouman 2, Moeller 2).

Tags: sports, prep, basketball, trojans, pipestone, boys