WHS boys win two in tourney

The Tri-City United Holiday Tournament, taking place Dec. 29 and 30, involved 12 boys’ and girls’ basketball teams from eight schools.

This year, Waseca’s boys were part of the tournament, winning both of their games against Kenyon-Wanamingo and Le Sueur-Henderson to extend their undefeated streak to six games.

 

Waseca 57, Kenyon-Wanamingo 45

Kenyon-Wanamingo was the toughest opponent Waseca faced this year, sporting a 6-1 record entering the tournament. They showed why they had that record with their pressure and great defense.

The Bluejays did a fine job in the first half. Andrew Robran opened the scoring with four straight points. Sophomore Damarius Russell contributed two. Kenyon-Wanamingo only held two small leads. Waseca figured things out on offense, edging out Kenyon-Wanamingo for a 31-19 halftime lead.

One thing echoed by Waseca coach Seth Anderson throughout the second half was, “Don’t foul!”

Both the Bluejays and Knights were getting frustrated with the calls.

“This team has given a tremendous effort when they take the floor,” Anderson said. “They fly around and battle. But sometimes we get in trouble with silly, clumsy, or overaggressive fouls where we just aren’t in a position to make a play.”

The Waseca boys also seemed a bit disappointed in their performance despite the victory against a quality opponent. Anderson explained that part of the reason for that was making only 5 of 25 three-point shots.

“I think the most frustrating thing was how much we turned the ball over against the pressure and our sloppy passing in the half court,” he added. 

Anderson isn’t worried about them being too hard on themselves. “They all have a will to play well and a desire to keep getting better,” he said. “They expect that out of themselves.”

Aside from the sentiment of underachieving in a win, Anderson felt good about the victory. “It’s good to see us win against a quality team even when we didn’t feel like that was our best performance,” he stated.

Individually: Damarius Russell, 16 points; Laird Keeton, 14 points; Zach Hulscher, 6 points; Andrew Robran, 6 points; Carson Ohnstad, 6 points; Tyson Reger, 5 points; Deron Russell, 3 points; Tauston Rupe, 1 point.

 

Waseca 75, Le Sueur-Henderson 42

After a close victory against Kenyon-Wanamingo, the Bluejays faced LeSueur-Henderson, a team that had one win all season and lost to JWP in the tournament 71-52. It was a much better game from the Bluejays, as they scored 54 points in the first half alone.

“We definitely did much better offensively,” Anderson said. “We were accurate with our shots against the Giants.”

Even when Waseca put on the brakes in the second half, they outscored the Giants 22-19. Damarius Russell led the group in points with 22, while Deron Russell and Laird Keeton also had double-digit nights with 17 and 12 points, respectively. “This group continues to grow every game,” Anderson said. “I’m just really excited for the kids because they want to keep working hard and getting better.”

Other contributors were Hulscher with 9, Robran with 4, Reger with 3, Honstad with 3, Ohnstad with 2, and Rupe with 2.

The wins improved the Bluejays’ record to 6-0. They travel to New Ulm Friday and to Jackson County Central Saturday.