“We played a very clean game tonight in New York Mills,” said Barnesville Head Coach Matt Askegaard. “They are down this year, but I wanted our guys to be clean on both ends of the floor. Defensively, we were very good. We contained the drive and when we did get beat, help was there waiting. We weren't all over the place, like last night. I would say we worked smarter, not necessarily harder on the defensive end of the floor. It sounds silly, but when we stay between the ball and the basket we are tough defensively.”

The Trojans shot 53% (32-60) from the field and made 16-of-22 free throws.  They also dominated the boards, 35-22.  Tate Inniger had a huge night, scoring 30 points on 12-of-17 shooting, and grabbing 9 rebounds.  Owen Riddle added 16 points and 3 steals, and Carson Hagen was also in double digits with a dozen.  Zach Bredman (7 points, 5 steals, 3 assists, 5 rebounds) and Gannon Bolgrean (6 points, 6 steals, 6 rebounds, 7 assists) also contributed solid numbers.

“Offensively we were disciplined as well,” noted Coach Askegaard. “In the half court we reversed it nicely which forced the defense to shift and move, that enabled gaps to penetrate and we took advantage. When the drive wasn't there, we were patient and kept moving the ball. We also did a nice job of punching and kicking to our shooters as well. When we do things right on offense we can be very tough. Our defense in the half court enabled us to get out and run in transition as well getting us some easy baskets.”

The Trojans are 4-6 in the conference and 14-7 overall. They have two big games next week with the first being at home against Pelican Rapids on Tuesday and then they hit the road on Thursday and head to West Central Area.

New York Mills has a road game at Verndale on Tuesday and another road game on Friday at Parkers Prairie.