Warriors place 8th at state

Winner High School boys basketball team  placed 8^th at the state Class A basketball tournament in Sioux Falls.

Senior Brady Fritz was  named to the all tournament team.

The Warriors opened state tournament play when they faced Dakota Valley. Dakota Valley defeated Winner 65-58.

A 20 point Winner deficit turned into a one possession game in the final minutes.

Dakota Valley led 38-20 with 7:12 left in the third quarter. Brady Fritz scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half including 16 in the third quarter that helped Winner cut the deficit to 10 points.

Blake Volmer sank a three pointer to make it a 59-58 game. Volmer had 12 points in the game.

Winner could not stop Dakota Valley from increasing its lead.

The Warriors shot 38 percent from the field and were 4 of 7 from the free throw line.

Ethan Bartels pulled down 7 rebounds, Fritz, 6; Volmer and Elijah Peterson, 5 each.

Farner had 4 assists and Peterson, 3.

Volmer had 2 man makers.

In the second game on Friday, Chamberlain defeated Winner 68-43.

The Warriors fell behind early as the Cubs went on a 19-0 run.
Fritz was held to 13 points and Volmer added 10. Slade Cournoyer scored 6 points. The Warriors shot 36 percent from the field and were 8 of 17 from the free throw line.

Cournoyer had 6 rebounds, Volmer, 5 and Bartels, 4.

Vesely had a man maker.

In the 7^th and 8^th place game on Saturday, Winner played Vermillion. The Tanagers have a strong Winner connection. Head coach Jay Drake is a WHS grad and Jay’s father, Jim, coached the Winner boys team for 31 years. Jim Drake is an assistant coach at Vermillion.

The Tanagers defeated Winner 78-49.

Early on Winner found itself in a big hole as Vermillion led 17-0.

Fritz scored 18 points, Volmer 8, Cournoyer, 7 and Barfuss, 6.

Volmer pulled down 12 rebounds, Fritz, 5 and Vesely, 4.

Volmer had 4 assists and Peterson had a man maker.

“We are so proud of our guys for competing at the highest level of the state,” said coach Brett Gardner. “The results didn’t end the way we had hoped and we didn’t shoot very well but with that being said our guys never gave up and never hung their heads,” said the coach.
“We are proud of the way we represented our program, our school and our communities. We finished the season 20-5  which is the fourth most wins in Warrior history,” said the coach.