"It was a very physical game, and honestly, it was quite sloppy,” said Battle Lake Head Coach Tyler Owen. “Every good team needs to find a way to come out on top of a game like that, so I'm glad we were able to pull it off."

The Battlers started off the game strong, going on a 7-0 run to begin the game. The Warriors didn't let that run rattle them, and they hung tough for the remaining part of the first half, going into the break only trailing by three, 35-32.

The Warriors kept fighting in the second half, and they eventually took the lead.

"Hats off to them for not letting a couple of runs get to them,” added Coach Owen. “They're a young team, but they play very maturely."

After a back and forth second half, the score stood tied with 12 seconds left after a Warrior timeout. The Battlers came up with a plan to get one of their shooters, Drew Johnson, a look at the hoop. Brady VanErp came off a ball screen aggressively, which drew the help of Johnson's defender, giving VanErp just enough time to get the ball to Johnson, in turn allowing Johnson to have just enough space to attempt a last second corner three. Johnson knocked down the shot, and the buzzer sounded, giving Battle Lake a 58-55 win over the Warriors.

Drew Johnson and Brady VanErp each scored 16 points to lead the Battle Lake attack. Owen Buehler had a great defensive game recording 4 steals and 2 blocks.

Wheaton/Herman-Norcross was led by Clint Determan with 17 points and 9 rebounds.  Grant Dawson added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.  The Warriors struggled to take care of the ball as they committed 23 turnovers leading to 25 Battle Lake points.  WHN shot 40.8% from the field, while Battle Lake hit 50% of their field goal attempts.

“We did not play a good game,” said Wheaton/Herman-Norcross Head Coach Jordon Roos.  “Battle Lake came out and pressured us and we did not take care of the ball all game.  We dug a hole early because of turnovers and blew a 4-point lead in the last 1:30 because of turnovers.  The shots also haven’t been falling around the rim which has come back to haunt us lately.  We did rebound very well which was emphasized going into this game, but that was maybe the lone bright spot.  Hopefully, we learn from our mistakes and understand the value of taking care of the ball moving forward.”

Battle Lake (4-11) will close out the regular season with two home games this week.  They will host Rothsay on Monday night and Underwood on Thursday.