Firle scores 30 in blowout

MVL boys win ninth straight

By JIM BASTIAN

Journal Sports Writer

NEW ULM -- Jake Firle scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds as Minnesota Valley Lutheran rattled off their ninth straight win with an 81-55 win over the Blue Earth Area Bucs Saturday night in non-conference basketball.

Andy Beilke added 16 and Nate Nass 12 for the Chargers (11-5).

Brian Baumann and freshman Jordan Becker each scored 11 for BEA (5-6) who played without leading scorer Jon Monson, who has a chipped ankle.

"We had a good team effort tonight," Charger coach Craig Morgan said. "We did a good job on the rebounding end of it -- I think that Jake must have had a dozen rebounds in the first half alone. He did a lot of that just on determination alone."

The Chargers, who travel to Sleepy Eye Public before hosting Wabasso next Friday, took the wind out of the sails of the Bucs' ship right away jumping to a quick 16-2 lead with 3:30 left in the first quarter before holding a 27-7 edge after the first eight minutes -- that despite missing their first seven shots in the game.

But the Chargers responded from missing those shots by hitting eight of their next 17 shots in the quarter -- MVL got off 24 shots compared to only eight for the Bucs.

MVL had little trouble inside, sometimes getting off two, three and four rebound shots.

"Our early shots were not well-chosen shots -- we knew that we could not afford to come out flat - maybe a little tired," Morgan said. "But we went inside well -- Jake went to the basket well, and they had no answer for Jake with (Jon) Monson out. With his size, and that of Nate Nass, we owned the inside."

"It worked out nice because I was getting a lot of putbacks," said Firle, whose season-high is 33 points against Wabasso. "I did the little things to get the points -- the shots did not go in right away but I could put them back three or four times."

Ten of Firle's 14 first quarter points were on rebounds or putbacks.

The Chargers continued the onslaught, taking a 29-7 lead to start the second quarter before the Bucs made a mini-run at MVL.

Free throws from Bobby Verdoorn and Jordan Becker, a basket from Brian Baumann and a 3-pointer courtesy of Jake Ferhnholz pulled the Bucs to within 34-18 with just under 4:00 to go in the first half.

But baskets by Firle, Nate Nass and Andy Beilke lifted MVL to a 40-20 lead with 2:15 left in the first half. BEA would come no closer than 18 points the rest of the game.

The Chargers' defense forced the Bucs to take contested perimeter shots.

"We wanted to put pressure on their guards -- I had not seen them before," Morgan said. "I just felt that we had to keep them away from the basket."

That perimeter defense pressured BEA's outside game where they hit only 6-21 shots from the floor in the first 16 minutes.

Both teams exchanged baskets to start the third quarter before MVL, sparked by Firle's second basket that quarter, made an 8-0 run for a 54-30 lead on a Nass rebound.

Leading 63-38 after three quarters, MVL scored the first five points of the final quarter for a 68-38 lead with 6:15 left -- their biggest lead of the game -- as they coasted to the win.

"I think that we are a totally different team from when we started the season," Firle said. "We had a lot of different guys who had never been on the floor before for a varsity game -- it was a learning experience for them. But now we believe that we can beat any team on any night."

BEA won the "B" game 51-38. Joe Kuechenmeister led the Bucs with 19 points while Ben Ziesemer led the Chargers with eight.

BEA 7 19 12 17 -- 55

MVL 27 17 19 18 -- 81

BEA (55): Becker 11, Baumann 11, Frey 10, Hassing 10, Olden 5, Verdoorn 4, Fernholz 3, Schaible 1.

MVL (81) Firle 30, Beilke 16, Nass 12, Lendt 5, Struck 5, Lange 4, Thiesfeldt 3, Holzhueter 2, Petersen 2, Polzin 2.