Dylan Bainbridge scored 21 points and Clint Determan had 17 to lead the Bucs.  Determan completed a double double by securing 14 rebounds.  Caden Spilde grabbed 8 rebounds in the game and Bainbridge had a team high 4 assists.  Andrew Walker added 8 points and 6 rebounds.

“This was a good ballgame between a couple of good teams,” stated Border West Head Coach Jordon Roos.  “Both teams did some things well and caused some problems for the other.  We never got into a great rhythm or made a big run in this game like we generally find a way to do and it stayed close the whole game.  Our rebounding effort was probably the difference in this game.  It was a gutsy effort and we found a way to win even though the shots didn’t seem to fall and the ball bounced the other way.”

Bradyn Roisum (19 points, 7 rebounds), Jack Mekalson (16 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds), Drew Johnson (16 points) and Owen Buehler (7 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks) were the stat leaders for Battle Lake.

"Tonight's game was a battle to say the least,” said Head Coach Brady Cameron of Battle Lake.  “Border West plays a physical and fast type of game and I thought we did a good job playing with them all night.  Between players and coaches we thought we were the better team tonight but a few costly mistakes in the last couple minutes cost us a couple valuable possessions when we needed them.  Our defense stepped up all night as we held them to 37% shooting but we couldn't finish possessions with a rebound.  We gave up to many offensive rebounds (19) and turned it over another 18 times which led to them getting 32 points and 11 more shots than us tonight.  We emphasized boxing out and rebounding along with taking care of the ball against their pressure heavily in practice on Wednesday and Thursday so these 2 stats disappoint me, especially because a lot of our turnovers were live ball turnovers which led to them getting layups on the other end when our defense was not set.  I would rather take a 5 second call or throw the ball out of bounds than let them get a steal and a layup.  Offensively we did a good job in the 1/2 court against their man to man defense along with their 2/3 zone that led to us getting easy shots but we struggled to convert in the paint.  This is the type of game that we learned a lot throughout and is really going to help us come tournament time.  There were times when our guys were frustrated and could have given up but we stuck together, kept playing hard, clawed our way back into the game and had a couple chances to take the lead late.  Our seniors showed great leadership tonight keeping the team together and competing until the end. Coach Roos has his team playing well and they are a legit section 6A contender in the south half and we played right with them tonight."

Border West (17-2, 11-0 LEC) has won 13 games in a row.  They will host Breckenridge on Saturday.

Battle Lake (16-4, 10-2 LEC) had their ten game winning streak come to an end with the loss.  The Battlers will play at Ashby on Tuesday night.