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Bluejays go 0-2 in New Years Classic over the weekend

skyler jackson, the daily globe, worthington, minn.
·3 min read

Dec. 31—WORTHINGTON — The Minnesota West men's basketball team played two games in the annual New Years Classic in Worthington last weekend and went 0-2 on the weekend.

The first game of the classic was Friday night against Southwestern Community College and the second was Saturday evening against Iowa Central Community College.

The Bluejays now have a 2-10 record following the weekend and are currently on a four-game losing streak.

Here is a recap of both games.

Friday

Southwestern 69, Minnesota West 55

The Bluejays' first game of the weekend was a 14-point loss to the Southwestern Community College Spartans.

In the first half, the Bluejays kept the game within single digits in the early minutes, but Southwestern CC held the lead for most of the half until taking a nine-point halftime lead at 32-23. Part of what went into Minnesota West's halftime deficit was being outshot by the Spartans 37% to 26%.

In the second half, Minnesota West was outrebounded 26 to 11 as the Spartans ended up holding on to their lead, outscoring the Jays by five points in the half to win the game by 14 points.

Minnesota West's leading scorer was Henry Counsel with 13 points and he also had three steals on the defensive end. Kenneth Logan added 11 points for the Bluejays and he led the team in assists with three and steals with five.

Karasharo Ojulo, playing his first games for the team last weekend as a recent addition to the roster, added nine points and six rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.

Jordan Samuelsson added seven points, Paul Fairley Jr., also playing his first couple games last weekend, added six, Teddy Collins Jr. added five and Jeremish Guevarra added four.

Southwestern CC had four players score in double figures, with Patrick Worrell leading the scorers with 21 points.

Southwestern 32 69

Minnesota West 23 55

Saturday

Iowa Central 83, Minnesota West 43

In the Bluejays' second game of the weekend on Saturday, a huge second-half surge continued to extend the Iowa Central Tritons' lead until they eventually won by 40 points.

Minnesota West scored the game's first five points, all of which came from Counsel, before the Tritons went on a 21-2 run to take early control. From there, Iowa Central continued to hold a double-digit lead for the rest of the half thanks to forcing turnovers which led to fast-break points. By halftime the Jays trailed the Spartans 37-23.

Fairley Jr. gave Minnesota West a bit of a spark in the first half. He hit three of his four 3-point shots, including a buzzer-beater before the break.

In the second half, Iowa Central stormed out of the gate and quickly extended its lead to 20 points. The Jays committed a string of turnovers early, which led to more fast-break points for the Tritons. That trend continued for the rest of the half.

The Tritons shot 58% from the field in the second half as their lead later reached 30 points before winning by 40.

Minnesota West had 37 turnovers in the game and shot the ball at a 31% rate, compared to 48% for the Spartans.

Fairley Jr. ended up with 13 points for the Jays to lead the team in 15 minutes off the bench. Logan had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Counsel added five points and Ojulo and Jordan Sinclair each added four.

Four players for the Tritons scored in double figures with Miles Fant leading with 15 points.

The Bluejays will kick off the new year with their Minnesota College Athletic Conference South division opener against M State Fergus-Falls Jan. 3 in Worthington.

Iowa Central 37 83

Minnesota West 23 43