After staying close to the fifth-ranked Bertha-Hewitt Bears for much of the first half, the Wadena-Deer Creek boys basketball team turned in their worst performance of the season in the second half in the 68-34 loss on Feb. 6.
The Bears took a four-point lead at the break, 32-28 and then turned up their stifling defense to limit the Wolverines to just six points in the second half to run away with the victory. The Wolverines went 2-for-19 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe while the Bears poured on another 29 points.
Wolverine coach Travis Hensch complimented his coaching counterpart on the Bears side after the second-half defensive drubbing.
"From a pure basketball perspective, it was fun to watch the Bears' stifling, half-court, man-to-man defense. They defended every passing lane, denied every back-door cut and boxed out every possession," Hensch said. "Coach Finck had his boys prepared to bring it for 36 minutes. The Bears' signature man defense was expected, and true to form, [Bertha-Hewitt] played it superbly."
Offensively, eight Bears players got into the scoring column in the second half with Marcus Reiwer leading all Bertha-Hewitt scorers with 17 points.
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The Wolverines got 10 points from Asfeld, along with nine each from Matt Lepper and Donny Tabery.
Against Hawley on Feb. 8, the Wolverines couldn't compete with the Nuggets' size and athleticism as Hawley raced to a 44-20 halftime lead and never looked back en route to a 98-48 victory.
Hensch contributed the loss to fatigue, noting that the Wolverines have been playing a grueling schedule in the past 18 days against some tough opponents.
"Playing our fourth game in seven days and eight games in 18 days, we're in need of some rest," Hensch said. "[Hawley] came out running and we couldn't keep up."
The weary Wolverines were victims of poor shooting on the night, going 22-of-56 from the field and 1-of-13 from beyond the arc and committed 33 turnovers.
Lepper led all Wolverine scorers with 10 points while Mason Lynk and Anders Meier each chipped in eight points apiece in the loss. Lepper also grabbed six rebounds.
Andrew VanHavermaet had a game-high 42 points and scored his 1,000th point in the Nuggets victory.
The Wolverines closed out the week with an 88-63 loss to the visiting Park Rapids Panthers on Friday night at the WDC gymnasium. After clawing back from a double-digit deficit early in the first half, the Wolverines went on a run to pull within one point heading into the break, 41-40.
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Then the Wolverines ran out of gas in the second half as the Panthers outscored them 47-23. Lepper scored 17 points and Cory Asfeld 16 for the Wolverines while Bryce Fazekas led the Panthers with a game-high 23 points.
The Wolverines (7-12) get a much needed break until Friday, when they host third-ranked Crosby-Ironton starting at 7:30 p.m.
Bertha-Hewitt at WDC on Feb. 6
Bears 61, Wolverines 34
BH 32 29-61
WDC 28 6-34
WDC-Anders Meier 2, Cory Asfeld 10, Mason Lynk 2, Donny Tabery 9, Matt Lepper 9, Erik Johannes 2 Three-point baskets-3 (Asfeld 2, Lepper)
BH-Marcus Riewer 17, Ryan Denny 6, Erich Kirscht 2, Carl Amundson 3, Tim Denny 9, John Hartung 5, Kevin Rolli 9, Joe Stricherz 1, Jordan Ashbaugh 9 Three-point baskets-4 (Riewer 2, Ryan Denny, Amundson)
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WDC at Hawley on Feb. 8
Nuggets 98, Wolverines 48
WDC 20 28-48
HAW 44 54-98
WDC-Meier 8, Lynk 8, Jake Trosen 4, Tabery 2, Scott Syverson 4, Lepper 10, Jeremy Reinitz 2, Cody Truax 2, Robbie Ludovissie 2, Erik Johannes 4. Three-point baskets-1 (Syverson)
HAW-Sam Neuman 1, Beau Sorenson 8, Cody Marvig 4, Andrew VanHavermaet 42, Nicolai Baer 3, Harris Aakre 1, Justin Laddusaw 5, Adam Olson 14, Jake Grefsrud 2, Eric Clute 18 Three-point baskets-7 (VanHavermaet 5, Sorenson 2).
Park Rapids at WDC on Feb. 9
Panthers 88, Wolverines 63
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PR 41 47-88
WDC 40 23-63
WDC-Meier 8, Asfeld 16, Tabery 8, Mike Schmidt 2, Robert Peterson 2, Lepper 17, Reinitz 2, Johannes 8 Three-point baskets-5 (Asfeld 4, Tabery).
PR-Tom Juberian 4, Grant Dierkhising 13, Dustin Craig 8, Doug Haas 11, Seth Overly 9, Brady Pederson 11, Kevin Vadeland 9, Bryce Fazekas 23 Three-point baskets-4 (Haas 3, Dierkhising)
