WCA boys take down top-five team

Sam Peterson

Grant County Herald

The WCA boys basketball team is zeroing in on the end of their regular season and played two games last week. The team started with a road contest against the Hancock Owls Feb. 17 where the Knights earned an easy 74-53 win over Hancock. They wrapped up the week at home Feb. 21 when they welcomed the fourth ranked team in Class AA, the Montevideo Thunderhawks. WCA was able to pull off an upset with a 59-51 victory over Montevideo.

WCA 74

Hancock 53

On a crispy Minnesota evening, the WCA Knights boys basketball team topped the Hancock Owls by a score of 74-53. The 25 below wind chills didn’t deter fan attendance as Hancock’s gym was packed and loud for a good basketball game. 

The Knights rode the hot hand of Cash Nelson in the first half who delivered five made three-point shots prior to the break to push the Knights to a 38 to 30 lead at the half. Nelson went on to deliver two more threes in the second half and 27 points for the game.

“It was an up and down evening of basketball,” commented WCA coach Brian Kjesbo. “We came out flat and weren’t finishing well, but the guys found their stride, raised their intensity and shared the basketball better to ride some momentum as the half progressed. Cash had a strong night offensively, but it is equally important to see guys excelling in the roles that are going to help the team the most down the final stretch. After four games in five school days the coaches are excited about the opportunity to get these guys back to practice for some fine-tuning,” concluded Kjesbo.

The Knights gathered in 39 rebounds, had 20 assisted baskets and swiped nine steals on the evening. In addition to Nelson’s 27, Sam Hanson tallied 14, Ben Bye scored 12, Marshall Dewey had ten, Isaac Allen scored six, Jack Sabolik scored three and Dajon Olson finished with two.  Carter Kjesbo and Owen Sanstead both contributed important rotational minutes for the evening.

WCA 59

Montevideo 51

The West Central Area Knights welcomed the fourth ranked AA Montevideo Thunder Hawks to Barrett Friday night and secured a 59-51 victory in a hard-fought game. The West Central Conference matchup featured playoff-like intensity and defensive effort by both squads.  

The Thunder Hawks held a 24-21 lead at the intermission as neither team was yielding clean offensive looks to their opponent. “What a rewarding evening for our young men,” commented WCA coach Brian Kjesbo. “Montevideo and coach Webb are having an exceptional year and they have secured a share of the conference title. I thought we rose to the challenges they presented and brought a focused and intense defensive mindset and then maintained it for 36 minutes. They came in averaging 75 points per game and scored 79 points in our first game, so holding them to 51 is a job well-done and a reflection of how well our guys competed and executed a connected defensive effort,”  concluded Kjesbo.

Senior Captain Ben Bye came through with a huge double-double effort of 19 points, 15 rebounds and two steals playing against Montevideo’s 6’6” star Gannon Reidinger. Marshall Dewey was clutch in big moments with 15 points, nine rebounds, three steals and three assists.  Sam Hanson brought the juice defensively, dished out nine assists, grabbed seven rebounds and scored eight points on the night. Senior Cash Nelson played his best defensive game of the year, scored ten points, rebounded seven and swiped two steals. Jack Sabolik played poised basketball, had three steals, two assists and three rebounds. Isaac Allen scored five to go with a rebound and an assist.  Dajon Olson scored two points and had two boards. Carter Kjesbo had an assist and played solid minutes off the bench.   

Sophomore star Griffen Epema led Montevideo with eighteen points followed by Reidinger’s thirteen.

The Knights move to 16-8 and will finish their regular season this week with a home game against BOLD on Feb. 25 and an away game at Ashby on Friday, Feb. 28.