The Chargers held a 29-23 halftime advantage, but the offense’s wheels got greased in the second half to help MVL secure a comfortable lead.

“I think we moved it just a little bit better, and we got the shots we were looking for in the second half,” MVL head coach Kory Kettner said. “I thought we settled a little bit early in the first half, took some shots that we probably would like to have back. We attempted twenty 3s, and for us that’s just too many in the first half. That’s probably what we would like in a total game, honestly.”

MVL had to contend with 6-10 junior Hunter Vinkemeier, who is rated as a top 50 player in Class AA by Minnesota Basketball News and holds the LSH school record for career rebounds. Vinkemeier scored 38 of the Giants’ 56 points, but Kettner was happy with the defensive effort MVL put up against him.

“I thought we did as well as could be expected,” Kettner said. “He’s a special talent. He’s a problem, because he can pull the 3 over the top of guys. You just got to make sure you’re physical with him and that you’re contesting those shots. If he makes them, you’ve kind of got to live with it and move on to the next play, as frustrating as that can be. I thought overall we did a pretty good job on him.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Minnesota Valley Lutheran’s Ethan Schauland drives to the hoop during a South Central Conference boys basketball game against Le Sueur-Henderson Monday at MVL High School.

MVL’s Blake Sexton was the primary defender on Vinkemeier, especially in the first half where he was held to just 14 points, despite giving up five inches of height in the matchup.

“He’s tough on offense,” Sexton said. “He’s really long, so you’ve got to get out on him. It’s hard to block him, so I was just trying to use my length to contest his shots.”

Sexton was a big part of a team defense that limited LSH to below its season average for scoring by 10 points.

MVL was led by Owen Birkholz on the day, who had 24 points on five 3-pointers and four rebounds.

“I’m just catch and am ready to shoot,” Birkholz said. “There’s plays run for me where I catch it, and I’ve just got to be ready to shoot it. And they were going in.”

Pierson Brau had 21 points and seven rebounds with four blocks, while Connor Bode had 8 points and four rebounds.

Birkholz’s first 3 of the game gave MVL a 5-3 lead, and a corner 3 from Brau and a steal and a layup from Bode pushed the lead out to 10-5. A bucket through a foul from Luke Merseth maintained that lead for MVL as he put the score at 14-7, but a 3 from Vinkemeier cut the lead to 14-10. MVL’s Trace Gunderson got in on the 3-point party as he set the score at 17-12, but the scoring was slow as LSH called a timeout with 4:47 to play in the half as MVL held a 21-16 advantage. Vinkemeier cut the lead down to 23-21 with an and-one, but one more 3 by Birkholz gave MVL a 29-23 lead going into halftime.

Made 3s from Birkholz and Bode to open the second half were a sign of things to come for the Chargers in the second half as they secured a 35-28 lead.

“We were shooting fast shots right away,” Sexton said. “But once we started slowing it down, we got better shots. On the defensive end, we just had to rebound … Our defense [improved]. The help D. And everyone was locking up on defense, and out shots were falling as well.”

Vinkemeier hit a 3 of his own to cut the lead to 35-31, but MVL went on a 6-1 run the stretch the lead to 41-32. A 3 from Birkholz gave the Chargers a 44-37 lead as MVL called a timeout with 10:44 to play, then Vinkemeier headed to the bench with his fourth foul with 9:42 to play. With Vinkemeier resting, MVL increased the lead by an additional 5 points, with Birkholz hitting a layup and a floater and Brau converting an and-one for a 53-42 lead before Vinkemeier re-entered with 7:10 left in the game. MVL maintained that momentum, extending the lead out to 63-46 on a corner 3 from Bode on an assist from Brau. While Vinkemeier got a putback to interrupt the scoring, the Chargers got back-to-back slam dunks from Brau and Sexton to keep the energy up and close out the game strong.

“I think we got the ball moving a little better in the second half,” Birkholz said. “We picked up the pace as well. We pressed a little bit, got some steals. Those fast-break dunks really brought up the energy too. Helps us play with more energy.”

Ethan Schauland sealed the victory with a pair of late layups for the Chargers.

MVL (13-6, 3-2) plays at Sibley East on Friday.