“We jumped on CMC right away with very good defensive pressure and took an 8-9 point lead in the first 8-9 minutes of the game, however, the next 22-24 minutes of the game we would trail and at one point CMC had a 13 point lead,” reported Barnesville Head Coach Matt Askegard.  “Offensively, we were very stagnant and not moving the ball through the air. We were plugging up the paint and dribbling too much. We weren't able to get into a flow. Defensively, we tried some different things that we had been working on in practice and we found out they needed some more work.”

Barnesville shot 34% (23-67) for the game, but what allowed them to hang around was the number of shots they were able to get up. “The quality at times could have been a little better, but we were getting the opportunities,” noted Askegard. “We had some timely defensive stops when we needed, but the ball just wasn't bouncing our way. We were able to cut the lead to 4 with 2 minutes to go, but with 45 seconds to go we found ourselves down 8.”

With under a minute to go CMC scored a layup extending their lead to 8. On the ensuing possession Zach Bredman hit a pull up jumper in the lane cutting the lead to 6 with 39 seconds to go. Barnesville took a timeout to stop the clock. On the inbounds the Trojans were forced to foul to extend the game. CMC went to the line for a 1 and 1. They made the first and missed the second, but extended their lead to 7. Gannon Bolgrean got the rebound, pushed the ball to Tate Inniger who skipped a pass across to Zach Bredman who hit a deep 3 to cut the lead to 4. “Here we used our final timeout and again were forced to get a steal or foul,” stated Coach Askegard. Down 4 with 26 seconds to go, Zach took an offensive foul. On the inbounds, Bredman hit Owen Riddle at the top of the key for a 3 cutting the lead to 1. Bolgrean then deflected the inbounds pass which Wyatt Suter recovered, nearly scoring the bucket, but he was fouled on the shot. Suter stepped to the line and knocked down the first, tying the game at 55-55. CMC then took a timeout to 'ice' Suter and to set up a play. Suter knocked down the second putting the Trojans up 56-55.  The Trojans then clamped down on defense, ultimately forcing a 25 foot shot to win which fell short.

Individual leaders for the Trojans were Inniger (14 points, 12 rebounds), Suter (14 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals), Riddle (8 points, 4 rebounds) and Bredman (7 points, 5 assists).  Bolgrean secured 7 rebounds, came up with 3 steals and scored 5 points. 

“This was a perfect example of a team not giving up and not wanting to lose,” added Askegard. “I couldn't have been more proud of them. They kept shooting, playing defense, battling on both ends of the floor. It's hard to think you're going to win down 8 with under a minute to go. Everything has to go your way.”

The following day Barnesville took on a very solid team in MACCRAY. “They had some length in the interior with a couple of guys going 6'6" and two very good guards on the perimeter,” said Askegard.  “We set the tone on the defensive end right out of the gate. On MACCRAY's first offensive possession, Carson Hagen went diving into the passing lane right in front of our bench which got his teammates attention forcing them to rise to their feet in appreciation of his hustle. Hagen bounced right up and joined his teammate, Owen Riddle, who came over to help. Carson was all over the place on both ends of the floor. He was relentless on defense and led us in scoring with 14.”

Suter (13 points, 5 rebounds) and Inniger (11 points, 3 rebounds) joined Hagen in double figures.  Bolgrean had 8 points, and led the team with 8 rebounds and 9 assists.  Bredman also had 8 points to go along with 5 assists.  Riddle led with 3 steals.  The Trojans made 52% (29-55) of their field goal attempts.

“Our defensive intensity from the tip set the tone and we maintained it the entire game,” continued Askegard.  “We forced everyone in the gym to play to our style and it was a great team effort in trusting the process. For this to be only our 3rd game was really impressive as to how we played. Everyone contributed, whether it was offensively or defensively. Aaron Baker came off the bench and took two huge charges, both of them against their best player (#2 Post) which forced him to the bench with 3 fouls in the first half. Offensively, we were balanced across the board. We can be very difficult to defend because you can't just guard 1 or 2 guys, you have to guard everyone on the floor.”

The two wins puts the Trojans at 3-0 going into the New Year, but they have a tough schedule next week with a trip to West Central Area on Tuesday and home on Thursday against Park Rapids and home Friday against Hawley.