PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: Fulda takes third with win over Cleveland

WINDOM — Running the floor well to score in transition and hitting several perimeter jump shots Saturday night, the Fulda Raiders raced to a huge 54-27 halftime lead and claimed an 88-61 victory over the Cleveland Clippers in the third-place game of the 11th Annual Windom Holiday Classic boys’ basketball tournament.

Ten players scored for Fulda (4-5), as the Raiders bolted out to impressive first-half leads that included 14-2, 25-8, 36-12 and 46-16 behind a diversified and well-balanced attack.

Fulda’s Todd Peterson (five assists) fired in five 3-pointers before halftime and finished with a team-high 19 points, while Andy Oakland (11 rebounds) and Cole Dierks both scored 16 points for the Raiders.

The Raiders’ Trevor Ruesch (eight points, seven assists) and Zach Holt (nine points, five assists) directed traffic on multiple fast-break opportunities and also drove to the hoop to create open shots for Fulda.

“We did a great job of running the floor, attacking the basket and making the extra pass,” Fulda head coach Colby Pack said after the game. “We also knocked down some jump shots early on, which gave us confidence and allowed us to play the way that we like to — fast. This was a very nice overall team win for us, as lots of guys got to play and they all contributed.”

Peterson started the game’s scoring with a left-wing 3-pointer and then passed to Holt for a fast-break basket — which he turned into a 3-point play — to give Fulda a quick 6-0 lead with 16 minutes and eight seconds remaining in the first half.

Ruesch scored on a drive through the lane and nailed a 15-footer to make it 10-0 at the 15:15 mark and then dished off to Nathan Getting (eight points) for a basket underneath 35 seconds later to put the Raiders up 12-2.

Oakland buried a couple of mid-range jumpers over the next several minutes, while Josh Ramerth meshed an 18-footer and also passed to Peterson for a right-wing 3-pointer in transition — extending the margin to 25-8 with 10:37 on the clock.

Three straight long-distance shots by Dierks, Oakland and Peterson increased Fulda’s lead to 34-12 with 7:42 remaining, while Holt scored on a pair of nifty drives to help make it 54-27 by the halftime break.

The Raiders continued to score well in the second half and mounted their largest lead (82-46) with 4:32 to play. Kole Kramer, Ryan Schumacher and Bennett Appel were among the players to score in the final 18 minutes to help Fulda stay in command.

Cleveland’s Tommy Kraft finished with a game-high 25 points, while teammates Kyle Ziebarth (12), Derek Ely (nine) and Bryce Skistad (eight) combined to score 29 points for the Clippers (3-4).

Fulda returns to action Thursday with a road game at Lakeview and then hosts Ellsworth Friday.

Tags: sports, prep, boys, basketball, fulda