Vikings 'take one on the chin'

Published 07:24 a.m., December 18, 2009

PELICAN RAPIDS— As Pelican Rapids boys basketball coach Brad Strand put it, the Vikings “took one on the chin” Thursday night as they suffered a let down to previously winless Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 70-53 in a Heart O’Lakes Conference game.

DGF held a narrow four point advantage heading into the second half, but began to pull away by capitalizing on several Pelican Rapids turnovers.

“They were just a tad faster to the loose balls then we were tonight,” Strand said. “We turned the ball over way too many times and they were just more physical then us.”

The Rebels made a living by slashing the lanes and drawing a multitude of Vikings’ fouls. Once at the line, DGF hit on 59 percent of their 27 attempts.

Pelican was ice cold from the field, shooting just 39 percent.

The 53 points scored was a season low for the Vikings, who came into the game averaging 65 points in their first three contests.

Dan Wood, who has been Pelican’s main offensive threat early in the season, was held in check, netting just eight points.

Luke Halbakken finished with a team-high 14 points and six boards for the Vikings, Taylor Budke wrapping up the night a close second with 13 points.

Sophomore guard Casey Bruggeman continues to impress early for the Vikings, grabbing six rebounds and scoring nine points

“He hasn’t really surprised us, we knew what kind of player he was,” Strand said. “A lot is expected out of him even though he’s such a young player.”

The Vikings are receiving large contributions form several different young player as 41 of the 53 points scored came from sophomores.

DGF’s Chris Clark led all scorers with 21 points.

The Vikings (2-2) will be back in action next Tuesday when they host HOL rival Frazee on parents’ night in Pelican Rapids.

Battle Lake 68, Ashby 47

ASHBY — After falling behind by eight points in the first half, the Battlers (2-2) clamped down on defense and found their touch on offense, running away with a Little Eight Conference victory.

According to Ashby (2-1) coach Ryan Risbrudt, Battle Lake began to make its move with roughly five minutes remaining in the first half, mounting a nine-point lead at the break and “never looking back.”

Alex Ukkelberg and Adam Marso did most of the damage for the Battlers, finishing with 29 and 21 points, respectively.

“We gave up way too many offensive rebounds and didn’t have an answer to their top two players,” Risbrudt said. “They had us on our heels.”

The Arrows shot 43 percent from the field and comitted 19 turnovers.

Jordan Lillemon filled the state-shoot for the Arrows, ending with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

Underwood 63, Rothsay 48

ROTHSAY — The Tigers finally got a taste of home court advantage, but didn’t get a taste of victory, losing for the fourth time to start the season.

“Both teams played a great, hard fought game,” Rothsay coach Darren Rogness said. “ This was a very tight basketball game throughout.”

After a see-saw opening 12 minutes, the Rockets widened the margin late in the first half and led the rest of the way.

Cody Hanneman led all scorers with 25 points for Rothsay (0-4).

Brandon Masloski netted a team-high 12 points while gathering four rebounds for Underwood (2-3).

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