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February 16, 2000
Moeller, Ahlbrecht pace HoundsBy PAUL DUNLAP Journal Sports Editor NEW ULM -- The inside-outside game worked to perfection for the New Ulm Cathedral boys basketball team Tuesday night. Senior center Jesse Ahlbrecht had 19 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocked shots from the inside, and junior guard Will Moeller had seven 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 28 points from the outside as the Greyhounds defeated McLeod West 63-54 in Tomahawk Conference action at CHS gym. "I thought, the first half, Jesse really set the tone by getting to the offensive boards, and in the second half Will kind of took over and hit the perimeter shots," Hound head coach Dan Wolfe said. "The first half we boarded well, and in the second half we did a good job of recognizing when (McLeod West) clamped down on Ahlbrecht and kicked it outside. Will nailed a number of shots that really opened up the game." Ahlbrecht didn't have to wait long to reach double figures as he scored the first 10 points of the game for Cathedral. With the Falcons sagging inside, Moeller hit his first trey of the night late in the first to give the Hounds a 15-5 lead after one. Ahlbrecht ended the first quarter with those 10 points along with four rebounds and two blocks. "Jesse is probably the most difficult matchup for McLeod West, I think," Wolfe commented. "He was very active on the boards, and that can be difficult to control when a kid is constantly going to the offensive glass." A Joey Schugel 3-pointer would give Cathedral a 20-8 lead early in the second, and after a pair of Travis Mons baskets got the Falcons within eight Moeller came through with a pair of treys sandwiched around a Brandon Reinarts bucket. Ahlbrecht would give CHS a brief 30-13 lead before Travis Bussler's 3-pointer ended the scoring in the first half. McLeod West had just six field goals in the first 16 minutes. "Defensively we played real well," Wolfe said. "We gave up a few easy ones, but for the most part we limited them to one shot and got the rebound. We did a nice job of controlling the boards." The second half amounted to Moeller answering everything the Falcons threw at them. He would hit a pair of treys plus a jump shot in the third quarter as the Hounds maintained a 15-point edge after three. He would hit two more 3-pointers to open the final stanza, and Ahlbrecht would push the lead to 20 with 4:30 on a basket off a nice feed from Mike Hall. Before sitting down, Moeller hit a pair of free throws on a Mons technical foul and added a three-point play, and Ahlbrecht's final bucket of a dish from James Hillesheim pushed the lead to 62-41. The Falcons, behind seven points from Dean Loncorich, ended the game on a 13-1 run. Travis Bussler was the only McLeod West player in double figures, ended with 11 points. Mons finished with nine, and both Loncorich and Nate Bussler added seven. "(McLeod West) is a team, where if you catch them on the wrong night they can be explosive," Wolfe said. "They beat MVL, they beat Wabasso at Wabasso, so this is a team that will have to be looked out for come tournament time. There is no question about that." The Greyhounds (12-7, 11-5) will travel to face Sleepy Eye St. Mary's in another Tomahawk Conference matchup Thursday. The Cathedral B-squad (9-9) also won, defeating the Falcons 47-28. Billy Schreiber scored 15, with both Brandon Goblirsch and Tony Moldan adding 11. The Hound C-squad (5-8) lost 33-29. Tom Hazuka had 12 points in the loss, with Dan Schreiber and Mitch Palmer each scoring eight. MCLEOD WEST 5 11 14 24--54 CATHEDRAL 15 15 15 18--63 MCLEOD WEST (54): T.Bussler 11, Mons 9, Loncorich 7, N.Bussler 7, Hranicka 6, Dahlman 4, Karg 4, Schuster 2, Maiers 2, Hansch 2. CATHEDRAL (63): Moeller 28, Ahlbrecht 19, Schugel 5, Neubauer 4, Hillesheim 3, Reinarts 2, Biebl 1, Groebner 1.
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