Staff photo by Ari Selvey New Ulm’s Joey Wise (4) attacks the basket during a Kwik Trip Holiday Tournament game against St. Clair Saturday at Bethany Lutheran College.

MANKATO – New Ulm’s offense fired on all cylinders during the first half of a Kwik Trip Holiday Tournament boys basketball game on Saturday, scoring 56 points on the way to an 83-69 victory over St. Clair.

“We found each other,” New Ulm head coach Matt Dennis said. “I thought especially the first half we showed more faith in ourselves and our teammates than we have all year. That’s going to be important moving forward because that’s our strength, is getting multiple at or near double digits. Just having that team play, making the extra pass, diving on the floor. 

“Nick Risen dove twice on the floor, doesn’t show up in the stat book at all. But him diving on the floor, getting a steal on defense, both of those possessions turned into buckets. We recognize it, but he didn’t even get the assist on those plays. But those are star plays from our seniors.”

The win secured a seventh-place finish in the tournament for the Eagles after taking losses in the first two days of the tournament. The win represented a big improvement in ball movement for the team, especially in transition.

“We definitely ran the floor better than we did in the previous two games,” coach Dennis said. “That’s what we got to do. We not just ran the floor, but we found each other. That’s the key element. You don’t find each other, you stop running, and if you’re not running, you can’t find each other. Both have to happen, and I thought we did that really well.”

Levi Hopp led a balanced New Ulm offense with 18 points, while Mitchell Hopp and Brady Dennis each had 16 points. Joey Wise, who did much of his damage in that transition offense, ended with 11 points. 

The teams played evenly early on, but a layup by Owen Castleman and a stepback 3-pointer by Levi Hopp put New Ulm up 12-6 and forced a St. Clair timeout. St. Clair came back to cut the lead to 15-14, but New Ulm’s transition offense kicked in with a layup by Mitchell Hopp and 3-pointers by Brady Dennis and Mitchell Hopp to push the lead to 25-14 and force another Cyclones timeout. New Ulm continued to score with a spinning jumper from Levi Hopp and a 3-pointer by Risen, and the Eagles widened the advantage by as much as 44-19. St. Clair stayed in it thanks to the 3-point shooting of Carter Bilitz, who finished the game with 28 points on six made 3-pointers, but New Ulm entered the half with a 56-31 lead. 

New Ulm slowed down the pace somewhat in the second half, not getting out in transition quite as much, but the offense continued to score, starting with a 3-pointer by Brady Dennis to open the half. New Ulm continued to control the score for much of the half, and while St. Clair was able to cut the lead to 77-67 late in the half, it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit as New Ulm came away with the strong victory. 

New Ulm (2-7) travels to Worthington on Jan. 7.