MLA drops Red Rock Conference contest by two
There was a white snowfall outside – backed by a “white knuckler” inside the gymnasium in Slayton last night (Thursday, December 21). The Mountain Lake Lake Area (MLA) Wolverine boys basketball squad dropped the Red Rock Conference contest to Murray County Central (MCC) by just two points, losing 62 to 64.
The Maroon-and-Silver held a three-point lead following a low-scoring first-half, 20 to 17, but were outscored in the second by the Rebels, 42 to 47.
The loss places the Wolverines’ season record at 5-2.
Marcus Boyd and Drake Harder were again MLA’s one-two scoring punch, Boys with 22 on the game and Harder tallying 11. The remainder of team scoring went as follows: Regan Syverson (7), Sam Paulson (6), Spencer Khamvongsa (5), David Larson and Abraham Stoesz (4 each) and Weeston Osland (3).
Tyler Groves scored 20 points to lead MCC. He added 11 rebounds for the Rebels. Nater Everson had 18 points and four steals.
From the floor, Wolverine shooters were accurate on just 40% of shots, 24 for 59 (5 of 19 three-point attempts for 26%). At the charity stripe, MLA was 9 of 21 (42%).
The Rebels shot 47% (23 of 48), good on 2 of 6 (33%) from three-point range. The hosts were 16 for 23 (69%) from the free throw line.
The Wolverines held a slight advantage under the boards with 35; the Rebels with 31. Seventeen of MLA’s rebounds were on offense, with 18 on defense. Harder pulled down 11 boards.
Sixteen assists paced the Maroon-and-Silver offense. Stoesz had five of those, Boyd and Paulson each with four and AJ Vongsy dishing out a trio.
The defense also collected 16 steals, four of those by Stoesz. Also nabbing the ball away from the Rebels on “D” were Harder, with three; Boyd, Osland and Vongsy, two; and Syverson, one.
Defense also showed up for MLA with six blocked shots, two by Harder and one by Boyd, Paulson, Stoesz and Vongsy.
Off now until after Christmas, the boys will host Tri-City United (TCU) of Montgomery on Wednesday, December 27, tip-off at 6 p.m, during the 2017 MLA Holiday Tournament. Prior to the start of the game, the Mountain Lake Area (MLA) Wolverine boys basketball team from 2012-2013 will be saluted.
The 2012-2013 team played in the inaugural season f the Mountain Lake Public and Mountain Lake Christian pairing into Mountain Lake Area. The Wolverines’ overall record that season was 24-6, and 14-2 in the Red Rock Conference, earning a second-place finish. In addition, the Maroon-and-Silver were the 2A SubSectioin and Section Champions and played in the 2013 Minnesota State High School Class “A” Tournament.
A second tourney game will be played on Friday, December 29 against Cedar Mountain/Comfrey, with a start time of 4:30 p.m.
