No. 3 MCW holds off MVL
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NEW ULM -- Martin County West overcame Minnesota Valley Lutheran 55-50 on Friday in a nonconference boys' basketball game.
The Mavericks are currently the No. 3-ranked team in the state in Class A. MVL put a scare into them Friday night, but they were able to prevail in the end.
Kyler Flunker's fast-break layup tied the game at 42-42 with 9:30 left. Will Kaesermann's basket gave the Chargers a 44-42 advantage.
Zach Anderson answered with a basket for MCW to tie it at 44-44. Mitchell Weber's score regained the lead for MCW. Weber then got the ball to Tanner Sinn for a 48-44 Maverick lead.
Cole Thompson scored a basket that brought MVL within 2 points at 48-46. On the next trip down the court, Thompson hit a 3 with about five minutes left to give MVL a 49-48 lead.
Sinn's inside basket regained the lead for MCW at 50-49. Weber then passed the ball to Anderson, who canned a big 3 to make it 53-49 MCW.
Benjamin Halvorson hit a free throw for MVL to cut the deficit to 53-50. Flunker then was called for his foot going out of bounds, which awarded the ball to MCW. Anderson was fouled, and he dropped in two free throws with 16.5 seconds remaining to ice the game for the Mavericks.
Things were different during the first half. MVL jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. MCW battled back and it got its first lead of 11-10 on a 3 by Weber. MCW led 14-13 on Weber's 3. After that, both teams traded baskets, with the Chargers holding a 31-30 halftime advantage.
"We played a lot better offensively and we were looking for good shots," MVL head coach Craig Morgan said. "We played hard and we did a good job on both ends of the floor."
MCW put on a full-court press in the second half that bothered MVL's offensive flow. It also led to turnovers and points for the Mavericks.
MVL had 18 total turnovers. MCW committed only 12 turnovers. Both teams scored 10 points off turnovers.
"We handled the press better later on, but, at first, we didn't handle it the best," Morgan said.
Ben Pearson led MVL with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals, three assists and one blocked shot. Thompson added 11 points and Ty Sexton had seven rebounds.
Anderson led MCW with 19 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. Weber scored 14 points and had seven rebounds, three assists and four steals. Sinn had 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
MVL (5-20) hosts Waterville-Elysian-Morristown on Monday night.