Boys basketball: Willmar Cardinals finally find a way

Dec. 28—WILLMAR — Thursday night was a moment of catharsis for the Willmar boys basketball team.

In the midst of an 0-7 start, the Cardinals found themselves on the end of some big runs that put them into huge deficits.

This time, Willmar got the big run and finally got into the win column at the Bremer Bank Holiday Classic.

"It feels good to end on a positive moment," said Willmar sophomore Avery Christensen. "We've really been waiting for this moment."

Down 45-43 to St. Paul Humboldt midway through the second half, the Cardinals broke off a 23-2 run to go ahead 66-47.

Willmar went on to win the Red Bracket game at the Big Red Gym, 69-51.

"I told them afterwards that they deserve that," said Cardinals head coach Jeff Holtkamp. "They've been working hard and they had to battle."

The Cardinals play New London-Spicer in the Red Bracket championship game at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Big Red Gym.

"I was happy for the guys," Holtkamp said. "They needed that."

Willmar's first victory came at the expense of one of its own. Coaching Humboldt is Sam Esboldt, a 2010 WHS grad. The Hawks play Central Minnesota Christian in the third-place game at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

"The experience has been great," Esboldt said. "We leave the Cities and everything's new for everybody. Everyone piled onto the air mattresses last night (as Esboldt's parents' house). As far as a whole, the experience has been good.

"There are some things we can take out from the game as well."

Humboldt led 33-32 at half thanks to a strong opening from senior Albert Wellington. The 5-foot-8 guard scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half.

"He's a phenomenal player," Esboldt said of Wellington. "He's a great leader for us both on the court as far as scoring goes but off the court as well. He's been nothing but great for us."

The Hawks built the lead to 45-43 after a floater by Char Davis with 11 minutes, 21 seconds to play.

A score in the post by William Sportel tied the game at 45 and kicked off the Cardinals' game-changing run.

With Willmar up 51-47, Christensen hit the accelerator on that run with three straight 3-pointers.

"I've never gotten (hot) like that, not three in a row," Christensen said. "(The shots) felt so good coming off."

Sportel followed that up with two straight traditional three-point plays, putting the score at 66-47.

"Avery's capable of it — we've seen it this summer and in practices — but it just hasn't happened for him," Holtkamp said. "He works hard on his shot and he loves to shoot.

"Then Will comes through with two-and-ones. ... That was good for Will to get going. He missed a week with being ill and he's getting back into shape. It's good to see him be more aggressive and attack the rims and draw those fouls."

With win No. 1 finally out of the way, the Cardinals hope to get some momentum into the new year with another victory. This time, it would be against its rival on Highway 23.

"I always looked forward to this game as a kid," Christensen said of the Willmar/NLS matchup.

Grant Paffrath and New London-Spicer held off a late charge from Central Minnesota Christian to lock up a win in the Red Bracket opener of the Bremer Bank Holiday Classic at Willmar's Big Red Gym.

"They scratched and clawed and put some tough pressure on us," said Wildcats head coach Skip Wright. "

The Bluejays cut the deficit to 67-61 with 1:19 left after Asher Wieberdink got a steal and a layup. CMCS got another steal but was unable to convert on three shot attempts.

Finally getting control of the ball, NLS got it to Paffrath, who sank a pair of free throws with 29.4 seconds left to halt the Bluejays' momentum.

"They put some tough pressure on us," said Paffrath, who finished with 23 points. "They were quick and fast. We drew up some plays in the huddle and that got us open looks for the ball and we were able to get down the floor and get fouled and get to the free-throw line."

With CMCS bigs Ryan Harrington and Nathan Wieberdink sitting out, the Wildcats' William Danielson feasted in the paint with 20 points.

"He was active on the boards all night," Paffrath said of Danielson. "He was a beast in there. Nobody could stop him. ... He did good tonight."

NLS also benefited from a strong defensive effort that held Drew Duininck to four first-half points. Duininck finished with 19.

"Our defense was pretty strong and we rebounded well," Wright said. "We did a good job on Duininck in the first half. We got the ball down the floor and hit the offensive boards. I think Danielson had 14 rebounds."

NLS lead 39-25 at halftime.

"We struggled early; some of our bunnies were rushed and that put us in a little bit of a hole," said Bluejays head coach Ted Taatjes. "I had some younger kids playing tonight due to injuries and it was fun to see them play a little bit. Sometimes it's a little bit easier when you have nothing to lose. You're down 10 points and you can play a little more free and take more gambles and that helped tonight."

Needing some size in its lineup, CMCS brought freshman Asher Wieberdink into the starting lineup. He responded with a team-high 22 points.

"He did a nice job inside and out," Taatjes said of Asher. "I don't think I took him out of the game. CMCS continues play in the third-place game of the Red Bracket against St. Paul Humboldt at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Willmar. NLS plays in the Red Bracket championship against Willmar at 7:15 p.m. Friday at the Big Red Gym.

The inside-outside games of Isaiah Dow-Hilliard and Lukas Means helped Redwood Valley come away with a victory over MACCRAY in the opening game of the Bremer Bank Holiday Classic.

It was an opening-round game in the White Bracket.

"They're solid, no question about that," said Wolverines head coach Lucas Post. "They can throw a handful up in a hurry. I felt like we kept getting it down to 10 and we couldn't do anything with it after that and that's a credit to them. They took us out of it and sped us up on offense and got us to do things that are uncharacteristic of us."

The quick-scoring Cardinals showed their ability to light up the scoreboard at the start of the game. Down 4-0 early, Redwood Valley went on a 15-2 run to go ahead 15-6.

Means fueled the first-half efforts with 15 of his 25 points. He hit seven 3-pointers in the contest.

Dow-Hilliard did the bulk of his work in the paint. Getting to the rim with layups and dunks, Dow-Hilliard finished with a game-high 28 points.

"You don't see guys like that (Dow-Hilliard and Means) very often," Lucas Post said. "Means will shoot off-platform and he doesn't need his feet set. He's one of those kids that can do that."

Then when it became an 11-point game in the second half, the Cardinals scored 14 straight points to lead 69-44.

Isaac Post paced the Wolverines with 20 points. Sawyer Janssen scored 10 of his 18 points in the opening half.

MACCRAY plays Barnesville in the third-place game of the White Bracket at 2 p.m. Friday.

Dassel-Cokato cemented a spot in the White Bracket championship game with a victory against Barnesville.

Gabe Aamot and Jackson Yanke each dropped 18 points for the Chargers. Caleb Thinesen added 12 points in the victory.

Zachary Bredman paced the Trojans with 13 points. Brady Nosal and Grant Quiggle each had 11 points.

D-C faces Redwood Valley for the White Bracket championship at 3:45 p.m. Friday. Barnesville takes on MACCRAY in the third-place game at 2 p.m.