Warriors come up short against Pine Ridge

Winner falls to Pine Ridge

The season ended for the Winner boys basketball on Friday at the hands of Pine Ridge in the semifinals of the Region 7A tournament.

Pine Ridge won the game 57-46.

Winner took the lead 9-4 at the end of the first quarter.

“We executed our game plan very well as we switched our defense around,” said coach Brett Gardner. “We held their high scoring team to four points after the first quarter and 22 at the half.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get our shots to fall. We did a nice job of keeping ourselves in the game despite shooting 34 percent. We are proud of our guys for giving the maximum effort for the full 32 minutes,” said Gardner.

Brady Fritz led the scoring with 24 points. Joren Bruun added 8 points and Blake Volmer, 7.

Fritz had 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Volmer, Phillip Jorgensen an Oscar Pravecek all pulled down 5 rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, Winner pulled within four points of Pine Ridge before the Thorpes went on a run and extended their lead to 10 points.

“It was a tough way for the season to end but doesn’t take away from the season we had and the relationships we built,” said the coach.

Winner ended the season with a 16-6 record.

Winner vs. Bennett County

Winner boys basketball team opened post season play with a 69-33 victory over Bennett County in Region 7A action on March 3.

Winner jumped to a 20-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Warriors out-scored Bennett County 24-9.

“We are proud of the way our guys came out and competed from the opening tip until the final buzzer,” said coach Brett Gardner.

Brady Fritz led the scoring with 29 points. He was 7-10 from the three-point range. Joren Bruun added 15 points.

The Warriors led 44-18 at the half. They continued their strong pressure in the third quarter as they held Bennett County to 5 points.

“We got after it on the defensive end and outrebounded them by 19,” said Gardner.

Oscar Pravecek and Fred Whiting each pulled down 6 rebounds and Kameron Meiners added 5.

All 15 players who suited up had a statistic in the game. “We were able to get to the free throw line and convert on them,” said the coach.

“We held them to 33 points and need to continue to defend,” said Gardner.

The Winner Warriors shot 41 percent from the field. At the free throw line, Winner connected on 14 of 18 shots.

The victory gives Winner a 16-5 record.