By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Frazee Hornets have undergone a bit of a turnaround over the past few years on the basketball court. A big part of that turnaround comes from the three leading scorers for the Hornets who have all left a lasting impact on the program over the past three years. Junior Adam Vigen and seniors Asher Blaine and Carter Sonnenberg have done their part to help turn heartbreaking losses into thrilling victories on the hard court.

All three players have become synonymous with the Frazee basketball program this season and all three have eclipsed a number of major milestones that will be remembered for a number of years to come.

Last season Sonnenberg broke the single season rebound record, while Vigen has broken the career steals record with an entire season remaining of eligibility.

However, the three will also be remembered for eclipsing 1,000 career points within a few weeks of each other earlier this season.

“We all knew it was a possibility coming into the season,” said Blaine of eclipsing 1,000 career points. 

Whether or not the trio could eclipse the mark was another story as injuries and misfortune can happen just as easily as a long 3-pointer going through the hoop. 

As with many smaller schools the Frazee trio has been playing together since they were learning the game at the elementary level. Despite being a year younger than his fellow 1,000 point club members, Vigen has been playing up with Blaine and Sonnenberg since Blaine came to Frazee in fourth grade. Since that time they have been working every winter and in the offseason together to not only push one another, but the team as a whole. 

That camaraderie has made all of the career milestones and success on the season over the past year even more special. 

“We have all three been playing basketball together since third or fourth grade so getting it in the same season is kind of cool,” said junior point guard Adam Vigen.

Blaine agreed that playing together since they were in elementary school has helped the three grow both on and off the court.

“We have gotten to grow up together. Probably no one knows each other’s game better (than the three),” said Blaine. 

The first of the three players to eclipse 1,000 points was Blaine, who needed 25 points heading into a January 28 game against the Menahga Braves at home. After a strong first half, the Hornet players continued to feed Blaine the ball early in the second half so he could get a few extra hots in a blowout win over the Braves. He was just three points short of hitting 1,000 career points for much of the early part of the second half, before scoring his 1,000th point on a drive to the basket and layup in Frazee.

“People were giving up wide open layups so he could take a three,” said Sonnenberg of Blaine hitting 1,000 points.

While all three players admitted they either knew or had a pretty good idea of how many points they needed to eclipse 1,000 points, even though Vigen said his math was off a bit and he thought he needed two less points than he actually did, the Frazee basketball players said their teammates were almost more excited for them to achieve the career milestone than themselves.

“It definitely make it more meaningful, probably more meaningful for the other people than yourself,” said Blaine.

In addition to Blaine’s milestone, Vigen broke a tie with Mitch Anderson for the school record for steals on January 28 as well. 

On February 21 Sonnenberg and Vigen joined Blaine with 1,000 career points as they both eclipsed the career milestone just minutes from one another in the first half of a win over Battle Lake.

Now that 1,000 point milestone is behind them, all three Hornets said they are gearing up for the playoffs and hope they can win a game or two to extend their season a bit. As seniors, Sonnenberg and Blaine know the next time the Hornets lose a game their basketball careers at Frazee will come to an end. The Hornets ended their season with a record of 11-14 and received the fifth seed in the sub section tournament. They will travel to Hillcrest on Thursday to take on the fourth seeded Comets with the winner likely taking on top seeded and state ranked Ada-Borup West on Saturday in Perham.