Frazee to host Pelican Rapids in HOL action this week

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Frazee trailed early, but was able to even their record to 2-2 since the start of the New Year with a 72-66 win over Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal.

Heading into the game, head coach Ryan Vigen said the Hornets had three goals they wanted to accomplish in their lone game of the week. The first was limit the Titans’ offensive rebounds and the second was to make more free throws than NCE/UH took. The Hornets achieved both of those goals as they made 14 free throws (NCE/UH took 14 as a team), and held the Titans to just 3 offensive rebounds. Even though the team achieved both of these goals, Vigen said he would like to see the team to shoot a better percentage from the line (they went just 14-27 from the free throw line).

After trailing by 9 points early in the first half, the Hornets were able to fight their way back into the game and took a 32-30 lead over NCE/UH at halftime. In the second half the Hornets were able to do a better job of taking care of the ball by turning it over just 6 times in the final 18 minutes of action. That came after turning it over 15 times in the first half. Meanwhile, a tough Hornet defense forced 24 turnovers and outscored the Titans by a 20-8 margin in points off of turnovers. The Hornets also held a big advantage of rebounds as they pulled down 40 rebounds, compared to just 26 for NCE/UH. A total of 18 of those were on the offensive end for Frazee.

Carter Sonnenberg had a big game from the floor, despite some early foul trouble, as he finished with a double-double with 14 points and a team high 15 rebounds. 

“Carter had a nice game with another double-double, after getting in foul trouble early,” said head coach Ryan Vigen. “His presence in the paint is very important to our success.”  

In addition to Sonnenberg, Asher Blaine had a solid night from the field as he scored 24 points off of just 8-13 shooting from the field to lead the offensive charge. He went 3-7 from behind the 3-point line and went 5-6 from the free throw line.

“Asher got back to his opportunistic ways by having a big night for us,” said Vigen. “Having a weapon like Asher to come off the bench and score 24 points is a luxury not many coaches have.  It says a lot about his team first attitude.”

Also reaching double figures for the Hornets was Alex Helmers who scored 15 points, while Adam Vigen finished with 8 points. 

This week the Hornets, who are 3-7 on the season, will travel to Battle Lake in a non-conference game on Tuesday, before hosting Pelican Rapids in a Heart O’ Lakes Conference match up on Thursday. 

POINTS: Asher Blaine 24, Alex Helmers 15, Carter Sonnenberg 14, Adam Vigen 8, Zachary Longfors 5, Nathan Longfors 3, Gage Post 3

ASSISTS: Adam Vigen 3, Carter Sonnenberg 3, Zachary Longfors 3, Asher Blaine 1, Alex Helmers 1

REBOUNDS: Carter Sonnenberg 15, Adam Vigen 7, Alex Helmers 5, Asher Blaine 4, Zachary Longfors 4, Kale Ovsak 3, Gage Post 1

STEALS: Asher Blaine 5, Alex Helmers 3, Carter Sonnenberg 3, Zachary Longfors 2, Gage Post 2, Adam Vigen 1, Nathan Longfors 1

BLOCKS: Adam Vigen 1