Hornets to take on EGF in Section 8AA opener

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Frazee Hornets will be making a long trek north to East Grand Forks in their Section 8AA opener on Thursday night. The Hornets received the 11th seed in the section and will take on sixth seeded East Grand Forks.

Frazee comes into the game with a record of 7-18 overall after averaging 51.6 points per game on the offensive end of the court, while giving up 66.4 points per game on defense. 

East Grand Forks finished the regular season with a record of 13-11 overall after averaging 70.8 points per game on offense, while giving up 63.3 points per game on defense. 

The winner of the game will take on either third seeded Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton or 14th seeded Warroad on Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the high seed. 

The Hornets wrapped up their regular season last week with a pair of losses coming to Wadena-Deer Creek by a score of 66-58 and Barnesville by a score of 65-40. In-between those two losses, the Hornets defeated Menahga in non-conference action by a score of 63-51 in overtime.

Frazee finished their regular season with a record of 7-17 overall and 1-11 in the conference. 

Monday

Three Hornets reached double figures, while Frazee opened the final week of the regular season with a non-conference game against Wadena-Deer Creek. After taking an early lead, Frazee trailed by a score of 31-29 at halftime. The Wolverines were able to keep the Hornets at bay in the second half to come away with the 66-58 win. Both teams shot well from the field with the Hornets hitting 42.6 percent of their shots, while the Wolverines hit 50 percent of their shots from the floor. 

The big difference in the game came down to the free throw line where Wadena-Deer Creek made 11-13 of their free throws, compared to just 1-2 for Frazee. 

“We played pretty well today and had our chances,” said head coach Ryan Vigen. “The result of the game came down to the free throw line.  We need to either foul less or be more aggressive going to the basket so we can get more free throw opportunities.”

Asher Blaine led the way offensively for the Hornets as he had 16 points on just 8-12 shooting. Carter Sonnenberg added 13 points on 6-11 shooting and 7 rebounds, while Adam Vigen scored 13 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor. Alex Helmers just missed out on joining them in double figures as he finished with 8 points. 

POINTS: Asher Blaine 16, Adam Vigen 13, Carter Sonnenberg 13, Alex Helmers 8, Kale Ovsak 4, Nathan Longfors 2, Zachary Longfors 2

ASSISTS: Carter Sonnenberg 4, Adam Vigen 2, Kale Ovsak 1, Alex Helmers 1, Zachary Longfors 1

REBOUNDS: Carter Sonnenberg 7, Zachary Longfors 6, Kale Ovsak 5, Adam Vigen 2, Asher Blaine 1, Nathan Longfors 1, Gage Post 1

STEALS: Carter Sonnenberg 5, Asher Blaine 1, Adam Vigen 1, Zachary Longfors 1

BLOCKS: Adam Vigen 1, Kale Ovsak 1, Carter Sonnenberg 1, Logan Brekke 1, Zachary Longfors 1

Friday

It was raining 3-pointers for Frazee on Friday night as the Hornets made 11 3-pointers on their way to a 63-51 overtime win against Menahga. The game was tied 49-49 heading into overtime. 

“I’m glad we could get a win on Senior Night.  Gage, Zach and Kale have been such great leaders for us this year.  Their leadership has made this season special for me,” said head coach Ryan Vigen. 

Throughout the game the Hornets did a solid job of holding into the ball and not making unnecessary turnovers. Frazee finished with just 13 turnovers, while Menahga finished with 21 turnovers. They also had 14 assists on 22 made shots from the field. 

Vigen said several Hornets stepped up for Frazee down the stretch to not only send the game into overtime, but help them come away with their seventh win of the season. 

“I think Adam took a step tonight.  After he hit the three to send us into overtime, there was something different about him,” said Vigen.

The Frazee guard scored 8 of the Hornets 14 points in overtime. Vigen said Alex Helmers also had a solid game from the floor as he went 4-11 from the 3-point line to finish with a team-high 19 points.

“It was good to see Alex get back into a groove,” he said. 

In addition to Helmers, Adam Given scored 16 points and had 4 assists, while Asher Blaine finished with 13 points. Nathan Longfors hit a pair of 3-pointers to finish with 8 points in the win. 

POINTS: Alex Helmers 19, Adam Vigen 16, Asher Blaine 13, Nathan Longfors 8, Kale Ovsak 4, Logan Brekke 2, Zachary Longfors 1

ASSISTS: Zachary Longfors 6, Adam Vigen 4, Asher Blaine 3, Logan Brekke 1

REBOUNDS: Zachary Longfors 12, Carter Sonnenberg 8, Asher Blaine 4, Adam Vigen 4, Logan Brekke 4, Kale Ovsak 2, Alex Helmers 2, Nathan Longfors 2, Gage Post 1

STEALS: Adam Vigen 3, Nathan Longfors 2, Zachary Longfors 2, Asher Blaine 1, Alex Helmers 1, Carter Sonnenberg 1, Logan Brekke 1

BLOCKS: Carter Sonnenberg 1

Saturday

One the heels of a thrilling win the night before, the Hornets wrapped up their regular season with a tough 65-40 loss to Barnesville in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference. 

“We struggled getting going today.  Sometimes it’s hard to come back and play at a high level after an emotional win like last night but that is something we have to learn how to do,” said head coach Ryan Vigen. 

After having quite a bit of success from the 3-point line the night before, the Hornets went just 4-20 from behind the arc and shot just 32 percent from the floor. Nonetheless, they continued to limit turnovers as they turned the ball over just 20 times, compared to 24 times for the Trojans. 

Carter Sonnenberg led the way offensively as he scored 10 points, while Alex Helmers scored 8 points. 

POINTS: Carter Sonnenberg 10, Alex Helmers 8, Adam Vigen 7, Logan Brekke 6, Zachary Longfors 3, Kale Ovsak 2, Nathan Longfors 2, Andrew Aho 2

ASSISTS: Zachary Longfors 4, Alex Helmers 3, Asher Blaine 2, Kale Ovsak 1, Drew Mekalson 1, Carter Sonnenberg 1

REBOUNDS: Carter Sonnenberg 6, Asher Blaine 3, Kale Ovsak 3, Alex Helmers 2, Logan Brekke 2, Adam Vigen 1, Nathan Longfors 1, Andrew Aho 1, Gage Post 1

STEALS: Carter Sonnenberg 3, Logan Brekke 2, Zachary Longfors 2, Asher Blaine 1, Adam Vigen 1, Alex Helmers 1, Nathan Longfors 1

BLOCKS: Carter Sonnenberg 1