BRAVES ROLL PAST WARNER

    Britton-Hecla rolled to a 53-33 win over Warner on the Monarchs home floor on Friday to boost its season mark to 7-3.
    The Braves were back in action against an 11-1 Leola-Frederick ballclub last night Tuesday, host Aberdeen Roncalli on Thursday, travel to Northwestern on Monday, and play at Sisseton on Tuesday.
    Coach Troy Knecht’s club jumped out to a 12-2 first period lead and padded that margin to 28-14 at halftime.  Warner cut the deficit to 35-25 after three quarters but the Braves responded with a strong fourth quarter to pull away for the win.
    “We got off to a great start in this one,” said Knecht.  “I’ve felt like our 1-3-1 defense has been a problem for our opponents, especially in the first four to five  minutes of games, but we haven’t scored enough or haven’t been  consistent enough defensively the entire first quarter to take advantage of it.  Well, we finally had the kind of first quarter and first half that we’ve been looking for.  Other than the last 1:30 of the first half we played very consistently in that first stanza.
    “We played with good pace, meaning we took advantage of the break when it was there and we took our time in the half court when we needed to,” added Knecht.  “We kind of did that the whole game really and that ultimately demoralized Warner.  Our third quarter wasn’t great, but we are far from a finished product.  I know we are getting closer to playing all 32 minutes at a high level.
    “Areas of focus going forward will be handling ball pressure, which we will see more of as our opponents get better, and keeping our turnovers down so we can maximize possessions,” Knecht concluded.  “We only had six in this one, and I’m not sure I’ve ever had a team with a number that low.”
    Will Richter had a season-high 20 points, grabbed seven rebounds, was credited with four assists, and came up  with three steals to lead the way.  Chaz Vietor added 15 points and eight rebounds.  Jaxon Zuehlke had seven boards.      
    BRITTON-HECLA: Will Richter 7 5-6 20, Mitchell Burger 0 3-4 3, Jack Teveldal 0 0-2 0, Graham Fosness 1 0-0 2, ChazVietor 7 0-0 15, Jordyn McGregor 23-4 7, Jaxon Zuehlke 2 0-0 4, Riley Hofland 1 0-2 2.  Totals 20-51 11-18 53.
    WARNER: Lincoln Kroll 1 0-0 2, Drew Bakeberg 6 1-4 14, Gage Knuppe 3 0-1 6, Brennan Wolf-Donat 3 0-0 7, Alec Mikkelsen 2 0-1 4.  Totals 15-55 1-6 33.
BH (7-3)       12 28 35 53
Warner (7-4)  2 14 25 33
    3-point goals – Richter, Vietor; Blakeberg, Wolf-Donat.  Total fouls – BH 12, Warner 18.