Battle Lake quickly went up by double digits, and never lost the lead. Rothsay made a couple of small runs to make it an eight point game at the break, trailing 43-35. Brady VanErp looked really good in the first half, attacking the hoop over and over again to score 14 points in the first half.

"Offense has not been much of an issue for us the last few games, but we have been giving up too many easy baskets on the defensive end,” commented Battle Lake Head Coach Tyler Owen. “When we made our run to start the half, it was mostly due to us taking initiative on the defensive end and helping each other out when the opponent beat us off the dribble."

The margin in the second half remained about the same for a lot of the half, but patient offense on Battle Lake's part led to Rothsay taking some difficult shots. Eventually, the Battlers ran away with the lead, and they went on to win.

"We talked a lot about getting back to taking pride on the defensive end when we were in the locker room at half time, and the guys took that to heart,” added Coach Owen. “We only gave up thirteen points in the second half, and that says a lot about our determination and grit. Rothsay is a good team, but we were just better tonight. Hopefully we can continue to build on these couple of wins that we've gotten in a row and go in a run come playoff time."

Brady VanErp led all scorers tonight with 23 points, and Kayne Cameron also had a good night, scoring 14 points.

"Drew Johnson has been scoring a lot of points for us this year, and Rothsay keyed in on him tonight,” said Owen. “That gave other guys opportunities to step up and take advantage of less help side defense in the lane. I am very proud of how we took what the defense gave us and played within ourselves."

Battle Lake (5-11) is home against Underwood on Thursday and will host New York Mills on Saturday afternoon.

Rothsay (8-9) will play at Hillcrest Lutheran Academy on Thursday.