Aberdeen Christian used an all-around effort to pull away from Northwestern for a 68-35 Lake Region Conference boys’ basketball win Thursday night at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.
The win was the sixth consecutive triumph for the Knights. Christian coach Aaron Moeller was pleased with his team’s offensive and defensive efforts throughout the game.
“I really felt like the second half our team defense was about as good as you could play,” Moeller said. “We rebounded extremely well tonight. We finally had a little bit of an inside-outside punch to our game, and we really haven’t had that, so really good job.”
After Northwestern built an early 8-4 lead, the Knights went to work, using that inside-out approach that began with Joey Johnson and Konnar Furman in the post and ended with a total of seven 3-pointers on the night, including five by sophomore Becker Bosma and two by Jett Johnson.
Jett Johnson, who finished with six points, said it takes practice and teamwork to be able to make the shots count.
“I get in the gym every day and that’ll happen,” Johnson said. “You get the right opportunity, the ball moves right, that’s what you get.”
Meanwhile, Bosma noted that once he saw his first 3-pointer go in, he decided to keep shooting.
“I got the ball, saw one go in, and just let it go from there,” Bosma said. “I took a deep one, I didn’t really know if it was going in or not. I probably shouldn’t have shot it, but it fell, so that’s good.”
While the Knights built a lead, Northwestern stayed close, ending the first quarter with just a four-point deficit. However, Christian used an 18-10 second quarter to extend its lead to 36-24 at halftime.
Wildcats coach Anthony Redman said his team struggled with the Knights’ size during the game.
“That’s what we talked yesterday about in practice and during the week is hey, they’re pretty big,” Redman said. “As you look at our roster, we don’t even have anybody past (6-2), except for Dallas (Stoltenberg), but he’s been out, so we knew that they were long and lengthy and athletic. That’s another reason why they got us too was second-chance points, and they pulled away and that was it.”
Northwestern senior Lincoln Woodring gave credit to the Knights’ balanced attack for throwing the Wildcats’ defense off throughout the game.
“They’re a great team. They’re so balanced,” Woodring said. “They don’t just have the big guys, they have shooters too, so they’re a really tough team to guard.”
In the second half, it was the Knights defense that finished the game, outscoring the Wildcats 32-11, including an 18-2 third quarter. Moeller was pleased with his team’s defense in the second half.
“Our goal is 10 points a quarter; we gave up a little bit more than that in the first half,” Moeller said. “The second half we held them to 11 points the entire half, so really, really great effort. The team defense to me just couldn’t have been any better, and really, to me, it was the difference in the game.”
Nathan Melius led Northwestern with 19 points, while Woodring totaled 12. While the season has not gone as planned for the Wildcats, Woodring noted it will take perseverance to finish the season strong.
“We’ve got the injured guys out; that doesn’t help,” Woodring said. “But we’re going to be faithful like coach talks about; faith over fear. So, we’re going to be faithful for the future in the season and we’re going to get our guys back, and we’re just going to keep fighting when the playoffs come around.”
Northwestern (2-11) will host Waubay-Summit on Saturday, and Redman said the message to his team is simple.
“Rest up, rest up, and heal up,” Redman said. “These guys just need to rest and drink their waters and Gatorades because Waubay, they always come to play, too.”
Bosma led Christian (7-4) with 21 points, while Konnar Furman had 16 and Joey Johnson 15. The Knights will now set their eyes on Saturday’s 1 p.m. matchup against McLaughlin at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls during the Heritage Classic.
“I think it’s a great challenge,” Moeller said. “They have a couple of really good players, so we’ve got to slow those guys down, and if we can keep doing what we’re doing on the defensive end, we’ve got a really good shot against anybody we play.”
Bosma also expressed his excitement for the opportunity to play in the classic.
“It should be a good experience,” Bosma said. “We get to stay overnight and play in a good atmosphere at a pretty good court.”
NORTHWESTERN (2-11): Lincoln Woodring 6 0-0 12, Jack Hansen 1 0-0 2, Nathan Melius 8 2-5 19, Carson Ewalt 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 2-5 35.
ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (7-4): Ellis Russell 2 1-1 5, Becker Bosma 8 0-0 21, Konnar Furman 6 4-4 16, Brooks Jett 2 1-1 5, Joey Johnson 5 5-7 15, Jett Johnson 2 0-0 6, Grady Jett 0 0-2 0. Totals 25 11-15 68.
Northwestern 14 24 26 35
Aberdeen Christian 18 36 54 68
3-point field goals – Melius; Bosma (5), Jett Johnson (2). Total fouls – Northwestern 15; Aberdeen Christian 8.
