By Chad Koenen

Publisher

The Frazee Hornets came just short of knocking off two of the top teams in the Heart O’ Lakes Conference last week. After coming up just eight points short of defeating the Barnesville Trojans on Tuesday night, who are currently 12-4 overall and 6-3 in the conference, the Hornets fell to conference leading Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton by a score of 62-58 on Friday night. The Rebels are currently 13-3 overall and 9-1 in the conference.

The Hornets did improve to 7-9 overall with an 80-58 win over New York Mills on Saturday afternoon. The Hornets are currently 2-8 in the conference.

This week the Hornets will host Menahga in non-conference action on Tuesday night, before heading to Breckenridge on Friday in HOL Conference action. 

Tuesday

The Frazee Hornets came out on the short end of a 76-68 game to Barnesville on Tuesday night. The Hornets led for a bulk of the first half, before a late Trojans run put them in front by a score of 39-33 at halftime.

The Hornets fought back midway through the second half to keep the game within a possession or two, but ultimately came out on the short end of the final score. 

“We have been in so many close games this year.  It is crucial for us to take advantage of our free throw opportunities, which we didn’t do tonight,” said head coach Ryan Vigen. “We played pretty solid tonight. We kept our turnovers down and our defensive focus was very good. We just didn’t make shots down the stretch. Overall, I was very happy with the effort.”

The Hornets forced an impressive 21 Trojan turnovers in the game, which led to 16 points off of turnovers. Frazee turned the ball over just 10 times in the game and pulled down an impressive 17 offensive rebounds in the game. One of the biggest differences in the game came at the free throw line where Frazee went just 6-14 and Barnesville went 10-11. 

Adam Vigen had a big night from the floor as he scored 25 points to go along with seven steals and six rebounds. Carter Sonnenberg scored 19 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while Andrew Aho and Dawson Lyman each scored eight points. Ayden Grossman and Asher Blaine rounded out the scoring with four points apiece. 

Frazee vs. Barnesville

POINTS: Adam Vigen 25, Ayden Grossman 4, Dawson Lyman 8, Carter Sonnenberg 19, Andrew Aho 8, Asher Blaine 4

ASSISTS: Adam Vigen 3, Dawson Lyman 2, Carter Sonnenberg 5, Asher Blaine 1

REBOUNDS: Adam Vigen 6, Ayden Grossman 4, Dawson Lyman 3, Carter Sonnenberg 9, Andrew Aho 2, Noah Mekalson 4, Asher Blaine 3

STEALS: Adam Vigen 7, Ayden Grossman 1, Dawson Lyman 1, Carter Sonnenberg 1, Noah Mekalson 1, Asher Blaine 2

BLOCKS: Dawson Lyman 1, Carter Sonnenberg 1

Friday

Trailing 41-35 at halftime the Frazee Hornets pushed back in a defensive battle on Friday night to nearly knock off a Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton that came into the game with an impressive 11-3 record overall and 8-1 in the conference. Ultimately the Hornets outscored the Rebels 23-21 in a defensive minded second half to fall by a score of 62-58.

“Very proud of how my boys battled tonight. We didn’t have our best stuff but we fought until the end,” said head coach Ryan Vigen.

After coming up short at the free throw line on Tuesday night the Hornets held a big advantage at the charity stripe as they went 10-16 at the free throw line, compared to just 5-11 for the Rebels. The Hornets also did a tremendous job of holding onto the ball and making the most out of every possession as they turned the ball over just six times, compared to 17 times for the Rebels. 

Carter Sonnenberg led the way offensively with a double-double by scoring 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Asher Blaine also reached double figures with 15 points, while Adam Vigen scored six points to go along with six rebounds and seven assists. Ayden Grossman, Dawson Lyman and Andrew Aho each scored five points and Noah Mekalson rounded out the scoring with one point. 

Frazee vs. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton

POINTS: Adam Vigen 6, Ayden Grossman 5, Dawson Lyman 5, Carter Sonnenberg 21, Andrew Aho 5, Noah Mekalson 1, Asher Blaine 15

ASSISTS: Adam Vigen 7, Ayden Grossman 3, Dawson Lyman 1, Andrew Aho 1, Noah Mekalson 2, Asher Blaine 1

REBOUNDS: Adam Vigen 6, Benjamin Reierson 1, Ayden Grossman 2, Carter Sonnenberg 10, Andrew Aho 2, Noah Mekalson 3, Asher Blaine 3

STEALS: Adam Vigen 1, Ayden Grossman 2, Dawson Lyman 2, Carter Sonnenberg 2, Noah Mekalson 1, Asher Blaine 1

BLOCKS: Carter Sonnenberg 2

Saturday

Less-than 24 hours after a tough defeat to DGF in conference action, Frazee hit the road for a matinee against New York Mills in non-conference action.

“We really battled against Barnesville and DGF and I was worried that we might be getting a little low in the tank.  I was pleased with how we responded today,” said head coach Ryan Vigen.

The Hornets jumped out to an early 46-31 lead at halftime and controlled the tempo in the second half to come away with an impressive 80-58 against Section 6A foe NY Mills.

“We didn’t have our best stuff but it was good to see nearly six kids in double figures.  Hopefully, it will give our younger guys some confidence going forward,” said Vigen.

The Hornets shot 45 percent from the free and forced an impressive 36 NY Mills turnovers on the defensive end of the court. That led to some easy baskets in transition as Frazee held a 34-0 advantage in transition points, a 33-14 advantage in points off of turnovers and a 56-24 advantage in points in the paint. 

As a team Frazee came away with 23 steals and blocked five shots.

Four Hornets reached double figures with Carter Sonnenberg leading the way with a double-double by scoring 14 points to go along with 14 rebounds, while Noah Mekalson scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds, Dawson Lyman scored 12 points and Asher Blaine scored 11 points. Adam Vigen scored nine points, while chipping in with eight assists and five steals, Andrew Aho scored nine points, Benjamin Reierson scored seven points and Ayden Grossman rounded out the scoring with six points.

Frazee vs. New York Mills

POINTS: Adam Vigen 9, Benjamin Reierson 7, Ayden Grossman 6, Dawson Lyman 12, Carter Sonnenberg 14, Andrew Aho 9, Noah Mekalson 12, Asher Blaine 11

ASSISTS: Adam Vigen 8, Ayden Grossman 2, Dawson Lyman 4, Carter Sonnenberg 1, Andrew Aho 1, Noah Mekalson 1, Asher Blaine 3

REBOUNDS: Adam Vigen 5, Ean Kilde 1, Benjamin Reierson 4, Ayden Grossman 2, Dawson Lyman 1, Carter Sonnenberg 14, Andrew Aho 3, Noah Mekalson 9, Asher Blaine 3

STEALS: Adam Vigen 5, Benjamin Reierson 2, Ayden Grossman 4, Dawson Lyman 3, Carter Sonnenberg 3, Andrew Aho 2, Noah Mekalson 1, Asher Blaine 3

BLOCKS: Ayden Grossman 1, Carter Sonnenberg 2, Noah Mekalson 2