WARNER – Warner was given a second chance Monday night, and the Monarchs took advantage of the opportunity.

Warner overcame a sluggish start, and then created numerous second-chance opportunities on the way to 53-40 non-conference boys’ basketball win over Aberdeen Roncalli.

The Monarchs turned 14 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points to help produce the victory.

“That was one of the key points going in, we wanted to dominate them on the boards,” said Warner coach Derek Hoellein. “I think we did that tonight.”

The hosts were able to recover from a 14-4 first-quarter deficit and then pull away from a 26-26 halftime tie, thanks in part to their strength on the glass, outrebounding the Cavaliers by 20.

“I thought it was kind of a defensive battle both ways,” said Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher. “It’s just when you give up 14 O-boards, you’re giving them the extra possessions where they have the opportunity to score.”

Noah Bakeberg worked inside for eight points and eight rebounds, half of them of the offensive variety.

“Basketball is not really my sport. I’m kind of a football guy,” Bakeberg said, “but just using my body, getting under there, use my strength.”

While the 6-foot-1 Bakeberg claims not to be a hooper, he showed he can get things done around the basket.

“I just know I gotta get the board, just be better than them and get it,” Bakeberg said. “I just gotta get around them, try to use some football moves, you know.”

The junior is a key member of the Monarchs in more ways than one.

“He kind of sets the tone for us,” Hoellein said. “He’s kind of an undersized post player, but he’s strong, he’s physical, plays with a chip on his shoulder. We need that from time to time.”

As the game wore on, the Monarchs picked up their offense, while the Roncalli offense dried up. The Cavaliers managed just 14 points in the second half.

“That’s one of the things we talked about halftime,” said Roncalli’s Austin Fisher. “We have to figure out another way to score, because they were all over it.”

Between the offensive rebounds and a physical defense, the Cavaliers were unable to prevent Warner from pulling away.

“The whole season it’s always been a problem for us. … It was O-boards, we didn’t come out ready to play in the second half, and they went on runs of their own and we just weren’t able to respond,” Fisher said.

The Cavaliers knew what they were up against heading into the contest.

“They’re a well coached team, especially on the defensive side,” Gallagher said. “We knew that going in. We’ve known that for the last five years since I’ve been here. Derek always has them playing physical, well prepared.”

Roncalli stayed withing striking distance down the stretch, trailing by six points on numerous occasions before the Monarchs closed the contest on a 9-2 surge.

Warner outscored the Cavaliers 13-1 in bench points, led by Easton Bruns who hit a pair of corner 3-pointers off assists from Jesiah Baum.

“That’s one of those things where it’s kind of a lapse in judgment on our game plan. We knew that Jesiah is a heckuva a passer. We wanted to see if he was willing to go one-on-one to go score,” Gallagher said. “A couple times we forgot that game plan and our helpside stepped in. It wasn’t just on the 3, it was dump downs to Bakeberg, too.”

Alec Mikkelsen led a balanced Warner attack with 14 points.

The Monarchs improved to 14-6 and will now prepare for the Region 1B tourney next week.

“You want to go into the playoffs playing well, and tonight was a big game,” Hoellein said. “I know it wasn’t a big game for seed points, but it was a big game for us having some momentum going into next week.”

Roncalli received 14 points from Jesse Hernandez, 13 from Bryson Olson and 10 from Fisher.

Olson also hauled down eight rebounds for the Cavaliers.

“I give him so much credit,” Gallagher said of Olson. “The attitude he played with, the hustle, the effort, he was cramping in that first half and still gave maximum effort.”

Roncalli, 6-13 on the year, concludes its regular season with a road game against Herreid-Selby Area on Friday.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (6-13): Jesse Hernandez 4 4-4 14, Austin Fisher 3 2-4 10, Quinten Shelton 1 0-0 2, Bryson Olson 6 1-4 13, Mason Berndt 0 1-2 1. Totals 14-42 8-14 40.

WARNER (14-6): Jesiah Baum 3 1-2 7, Braydon Kroll 1 3-4 5, Noah Bakeberg 4 0-0 8, Alec Mikkelsen 4 4-4 14, Brennan Wolf-Donat 1 3-3 5, Lincoln Kroll 2 0-0 4, Easton Bruns 2 0-0 6, Gage Knuppe 1 2-2 4. Totals 18-43 13-15 53.

Aberdeen Roncalli 14 26 34 40

Warner 10 26 42 53

3-point field goals – Hernandez 2, Fisher 2; Mikkelsen 2, Bruns 2. Fouled – Fisher, Shelton. Total fouls – Aberdeen Roncalli 18; Warner 15. Rebounds – Aberdeen Roncalli 18 (Olson 8); Warner 38 (Bakeberg 8, Knuppe 8). Turnovers – Aberdeen Roncalli 12; Warner 19.