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February 25, 2000
Eagles keep rollingBy JIM BASTIAN Journal Sports Writer NEW ULM -- While dense fog caused problems outside Thursday night, the trio of Evan Jacobs, Jeremy Fluegge and Brent Farasyn created problems inside. The three New Ulm Eagles combined for 54 points, 19 rebounds and six assists as New Ulm won their sixth game in their last seven, downing Fairmont 76-66 in South Central Conference basketball. Jacobs led all scorers with a game-high 25 points and handed off six assists. Fluegge had another strong game, finishing with 16 points, while Farasyn tossed in 16 points and added 14 rebounds. Nick Hinz led Fairmont (6-13, 4-7) with 13 points. "This was a big win," commented Eagle head coach Pat Burmeister, who saw his team improve to 8-4 in the SCC and 9-10 overall. "The kids played hard; we had that big win last week against Waseca and we wanted to make sure that we didn't come back tonight and have a let-down or get lackadaisical. But we came out and played some nice defense, rebounded well and ran the offense well. We shot the ball well and got the ball inside." That ability to get the ball inside and force turnovers with a solid defense turned an 11-7 Fairmont advantage into a 13-11 Eagle lead -- a lead that they would hold the rest of the game. Farasyn's power move inside, a Matt Schmidt jumper and a steal and basket by Jacobs lifted New Ulm to that lead as Fairmont turned the ball over seven times in that opening quarter. Fairmont was guilty of 24 turnovers, 20 of those coming in the first three quarters. Isaac Larson and Mitch Stueber opened the second quarter with baskets for a 20-14 lead that quickly expanded to 24-16 when Farasyn hit Jacobs for a basket on the third turnover. The Cards would crawl back to within 26-23 before the inside game of the Eagles regained momentum as Nick Forstner and Farasyn hit from the inside, with Farasyn's basket recording the third foul on Cardinal starting center, 6-foot-7 Nick Beckendorf. "They got some tall post players (6-foot-7, 6-foot-8, 6-foot-5), but they play behind us so it was pretty easy to enter the ball," said Burmeister. "We took it to the hoop, finished the shot and got them in a little bit of foul trouble. We want to go inside against anybody, establish that inside game which will open up the perimeter game later on." That perimeter game came quickly when Fluegge canned a trey, one of two for him on the night, Jacobs drove an open lane for a bucket, and Schmidt turned the sixth Cardinal miscue into a 37-28 halftime lead. That halftime lead expanded to 50-37 with 3:35 left in the third quarter, thanks in large part to the play of Jacobs who scored on a turnover, cashed in another turnover into a basket on a pass to Fluegge, stole the ball for a basket and sank the ensuing free throw for a three-point play. "Evan is a nice penetrator," said Burmeister. "We are trying to get him to push the ball more, and in the half-court offense, look to drive to the basket more. There are not many people who can guard him in that half-court because he is so quick with the ball." And it was Jacobs who fed Farasyn for two points to end the third quarter with New Ulm ahead 53-38. "Brent has really improved since December; he has improved all during the year and is doing a nice job scoring inside and rebounding." New Ulm returns to action Monday night when they host state-ranked Redwood Valley. The New Ulm B-squad, despite having four players in double figures, lost 72-63. Charles Ganske totaled 16, Bob Wellmann 15, Eric Austvold 12 and Mike Grossmann 10. The New Ulm C-squad defeated Fairmont 52-43. Andy Walden scored 13 points to lead the Eagles (8-11), with teammate Derek Johnson chipping in 12. FAIRMONT 14 14 10 28--66 NEW ULM 16 21 16 26--76 FAIRMONT (66): Hinz 13, Janssen 12, N. Beckendorf 11, Nowak 10, Schmitz 6, Simmering 5, Boro 4, Laue 4, Bremer 3. NEW ULM (76): Jacobs 25, Fluegge 16, Farasyn 13, Stueber 7, Schmidt 6, Larson 4, Spelbrink 4, Forstner 2, Scheman 1.
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