Mertens Drills In 27 Points as Bulldogs Wreck LQPV

Garrett Mertens crushed it with a game-high 27 points to demolish Lac qui Parle Valley 57-46 at the Milbank Armory on Thursday, December 28. Jaxson Wildung powered in 15 points and dominated seven rebounds. Joe Schulte added solid support with six points, nine rebounds, two assists, and a block. Yohanna Ajwanga scored six points and added two rebounds. Graham Lightfield connected on a three-point shot and pulled down four rebounds.

Logan Diede, head coach for Milbank, commented, “Very proud the boys got a big win against a quality opponent in the first game after the winter break. LQPV plays a unique style of defense – a 3-2 zone – that you don’t see a lot at our level.”

“We did a great job building a nice halftime lead, but really struggled in the third quarter to put the ball in the hole,” Diede concluded. “Credit to our boys for staying locked in defensively until we got back on the right path offensively. Also, Jaxson Wildung’s free throws down the stretch were huge! Top to bottom it was a team win!”

The Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the floor, including 21 percent from beyond the arc. They knocked down 12 of their 18 free throws for nearly 67 percent.

Lac qui Parle Vallley’s Kaden Molder also had a big night. He led the Eagles with 20 points. Davis Patzer added 12 points and two rebounds. Matthew Arndt made seven points. Eli Hegland scored four points, and Brock Bjornjeld made three. Molder and Baxter Kallhoff each recorded four rebounds.

Overall, the Eagles shot 43 percent with 27 percent going in from three. The Bulldogs denied LQPV a free throw attempt in the first half, but they hit six of their eight tries in the second half for 75 percent.

Milbank–18—18—6—15—57
LQPV–9—12—10—15—46

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JVGame
Milbank 64 vs. LQPV 28
The JV Bulldogs shared the glory in their win over Lac qui Parle at the Milbank Armory on Thursday, December 28. Milbank came on strong in the first quarter and racked up 28 points. They held LQPV to 18. Both teams struggled to score in the second quarter and each put up a goose egg, but Milbank recovered after the half and LQPV never got their second wind. The Bulldogs cruised to a 64-28 victory.

Este Abrego-Gonzalez and Braylen Bowsher led the way. Abrego-Gonzalez piled up 13 points and pulled down five rebounds. Bowsher scored 12 points and grabbed a rebound. Each player shared the glory and helped to secure the win. Josh Pederson got into double figures with 10 points. Ryan Keeton made eight points and two rebounds. Emmett Hanson made seven points and two rebounds. Bryan Meyer made five points and two rebounds. Mason Meister scored four points and made two rebounds. Sam Rick downed a three-pointer and took over five rebounds. Jack Howard made two points and three rebounds. Howie Zemlicka pulled down a defensive rebound.

The JV Bulldogs hit 49 percent of their shots and claimed 50 percent of their free throws. B. Bjornjeld led the Eagles with 15 points. C. Young was next with four points. LQPV made 32 percent of their shots and four of six from the charity stripe for 67 percent.

Milbank–28—0—17—19—64
LQPV– 18—0—6—4—28

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C Team Game
Milbank 36 vs. LQPV 23
The Bulldog C team defeated Lac qui Parle Valley 36-23 on Milbank’s home court on Thursday, December 28. Jeter Scoular and Jaxson Wiese each put up a game-high nine points. Layten Osowski was right behind them with eight points. Ethan Owen followed with four points. Harley Zemlicka, Aiden Kelly, and Liam Street each scored two points.

Garrett Weber grabbed six rebounds. Street got four rebounds. Scoular, Osowski, and Zemlicka controlled three rebounds apiece. Wiese, Ethan Seyer, and Liam Heller each snared one.

As a team,, the Bulldogs shot 39 percent from the floor, including 50 percent from long range. They downed one of their two free throws for 50 percent. LQPV finished with a 27 percent shooting average, including just 17 percent from beyond the arc. The Eagles also hit 50 percent of their free shots.

Milbank–15—7—12—2—36
LQPV–6—7—3—7—23