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Spreading the wealth
Published 01:48 a.m., December 5, 2009
BARRETT — An equal opportunity offense and sharp 3-point shooting buoyed the West Central Area boys basketball team past Ulen-Hitterdal 77-60 Friday night in a season-opening Heart O’ Lakes Conference clash.
Each one of the Knights’ five starters tallied at least nine points as the West Central connected on an astounding 58 percent (10-for-17) of their shots from downtown.
Bryce Olson led the way with 18 points while Sam Richards and Jake Boeddeker chipped in with 13 apiece. Beau Kashmark added 11 and Colton Blascyk nine.
“We know we are going to have a lot more balance this season,” West Central coach Kraig Hunter said. “We’ve got some guys that can shoot, and they were just one tonight.”
It didn’t take long for the Knights to start heating up either.
Less than 12 minutes in, West Central had already converted half of its 3-point shots for the game, grabbing its first double-digit lead when Boeddeker drained a long ball from the top of the key with 6 minutes, 24 seconds remaining in the first half.
The Spartans, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight, turning to diminutive 5-foot-5 freshman guard Neil Henrickson to keep them in the game.
The crafty lefty scored 10 of his 14 points in the first half as Ulen-Hitterdal trailed 35-27 despite being largely out-played by the much taller West Central line-up.
The prime reason the Knights were unable to pull away late in the first half and early in the second was due to Richards’ foul trouble.
The well-built 6-5 center — who averaged 19.5 points per game last season — was whistled for his fourth personal foul at the 17:21-mark of the second half and did not return for 10 minutes.
“Our offense starts with him,” Hunter said. “He creates a lot of opportunities for his teammates by passing out of the double-teams. He’s a good passer and knows how to set things up.”
After the pesky Spartans pulled within nine when Logan Pfingsten canned a 3-pointer at the 2:01-mark, the Knights closed the game on a 14-6 run to cement the final score.
“I felt like we kept them in it a little longer than I would have liked,” Hunter said of his team that made 50 percent of its free throws. “We felt like we had control for most of the game, but credit them (the Spartans), they made some tough, contested shots.”
Aside from leading the team in scoring, Olson also added six steals, four rebounds and three assists.
Richards and Kashmark combined for 14 rebounds while Blascyk dished out a team-best five assists.
The Knights won the turnover battle 22-18, forcing 13 Spartan miscues in the first 18 minutes alone.
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