Scarlets

hold off

Eagles,

62-52

By PAUL DUNLAP

Journal Sports Editor

MANKATO -- One quarter told the story Monday night.

The Mankato West Scarlets had a 16-3 run to start the second quarter and led the rest of the way, holding off New Ulm High 62-52 in nonconference boys action at the West gym.

With the loss, the Eagles drop to 4-9 on the season. They will host Hutchinson in another nonconference matchup Friday.

"We didn't execute very well offensively," New Ulm High coach Pat Burmeister said. "We hurried too much and never got anything set up on offense in the first half ... no ball movement. We didn't want to get into a running match with (West), but that's exactly what happened. We rushed our shots too much."

The two teams were evenly matched throughout the opening quarter, as a pair of Bob Wellmann 3-pointers kept the Eagles in it. His second gave New Ulm an 11-10 lead, but two Jordan Stolp free throws gave the Scarlets the one-point lead after one.

It was close as New Ulm got.

Jon Born was the man inside for West, hitting for eight straight points early in the second. With the Eagles keying on him, Stolp and Adam Sorenson each nailed a pair of 3-pointers as the game looked to get out of hand. Sorenson's second trey made the score 36-19, but Matt Schmidt came through with two jumpers that pulled New Ulm within 13 at the break. The Scarlets scored 24 points in the quarter, doubling up the Eagles.

"We gave (West) too many easy baskets in transition," Burmeister said. "There were big breakdowns defensively. We weren't guarding (Born) on the high post, and we weren't guarding (Stolp and Sorenson) on the perimeter. They had too many open looks, and they hurt us with it."

The Eagles played tough throughout the second half but were unable to mount a huge threat. New Ulm scored six straight points -- including two buckets from Mark Newman -- to get within 44-35 late in the third, but Dennis Baker turned it around with a three-point play and Nick Neubert's buzzer-beater put the West lead back to 14 after three quarters.

"We defended a little better in the second half," Burmeister said. "We covered the high post and the perimeter better, and began to execute better on offense."

Schmidt took command early in the fourth, hitting two more jumpers and a pair of free throws as the Eagles once again closed within 10. Newman's three free throws in the final two minutes cut the lead to 54-48, but a costly turnover gave West some momentum as Neubert hit for five straight points to salt the game away.

"We aren't a good enough team where we can make a lot of mistakes and still win," Burmeister said. "We fought back well, but we couldn't overcome our mistakes tonight."

Schmidt finished with a game-high 18 points, with Wellmann adding 11 and Newman scoring 10.

Born led four Scarlets in double figures, finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Baker had 14 points, Stolp added 13, and Neubert chipped in with 10.

The New Ulm B-squad (3-10) lost a heartbreaker, falling to West 54-53 earlier in the evening. Caleb Leighty scored 14 points, Danny Boettger added 11, and Andy Walden scored nine to lead the Eagles.

NEW ULM 11 12 12 17--52

MKTO WEST 12 24 13 13--62

NEW ULM (52): Schmidt 18, Wellmann 11, Newman 10, Austvold 6, Ganske 4, Witt 3.

WEST (62): Born 15, Baker 14, Stolp 13, Neubert 10, Sorenson 6, Gustafson 2, Spier 2.