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MVL defense holds off St. Mary’s

Staff photo by Steve Muscatello Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Christian Edwards (2) goes up for a layup after getting past Trent Steffensmeier (22) of Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s duringthe first half Tuesday at MVL.

NEW ULM — A strong end to the first half and a solid defensive effort throughout the night carried Minnesota Valley Lutheran to a 65-56 win over Sleepy Eye St. Mary’s in Tomahawk Conference boys’ basketball action at MVL High School on Tuesday.

The Chargers shot 51% while holding the Knights to 37% shooting from the floor. The Chargers also had 14 takeaways that led to 20 points.

Nick Bleick led the Chargers with 15 points, while Christian Edwards had 14 points and six steals off the bench. Kyreis Harrison also added 11 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks for MVL.

The Knights were led by Carson Domeier’s 16 points and five rebounds, while Trent Steffensmeier had 14 points and six boards. Kaleb Wait had 13 points for the Knights, while Kyle Goblirsch collected 13 rebounds.

Neither team was able to build much of a lead early on in the first half until the Chargers went up 21-15 on a Harrison-to-Edwards layup, prompting a Knights timeout with 7:59 left in the half. The Chargers didn’t slow down out of the timeout, however, getting a pair of layups

by Edwards and a 3 by Eli Schoof to go up 28-15.

The Knights were then able to end their scoring drought and the Chargers’ 12-0 run on a 3 by Domeier. After the Knights battled back to cut their deficit to 31-27 after an and-one by Braden Hansen, MVL closed the half out strong to lead 38-27 at halftime after back-to-back layups by Harrison and a corner 3 by Carter Sexton with seconds left in the half.

Both squads traded baskets throughout most of the second half until a bucket off the glass by Sexton and a free throw by Harrison put the Chargers up 52-37, their largest lead of the night.

The Knights clawed back to a single-digit deficit in the final two minutes on a bucket in the paint by Wait, but the Chargers’ lead was too much to overcome.

MVL (4-0, 4-0) hosts Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop on Friday night, while St. Mary’s (3-1, 3-1) hosts New Ulm Cathedral on Thursday night.

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