TRUMAN — Four Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther Jaguars reached double digits in the scoring column to defeat the St. Clair Cyclones, 74-59, during Valley Conference basketball action on Thursday.

“We had really good team balance and really good bench help,” Jaguars head coach Rick Uttech said after the game.

Uttech decided to have senior guard Alexis Brummond come off the bench, and the decision paid off. Brummond netted 15 points, while senior guard Hannah Johanson scored a game-high 18 points in the contest.

“Hannah needed this game,” Uttech said. “We talked about it a little bit the other day in practice. (I said), ‘You can do it. We just need you to finish. You’re making the right cuts and moves. The timing’s good, you just have to finish.’ And, she finished.”

Despite the 15-point outcome, the Jaguars fell behind, 10-6, to start the game. Cyclones senior guard Joci Hanson contributed half of those points with a 3-pointer to start the team’s scoring before driving to the basket for a layup.

Jaguars forward Hanna Geistfeld later narrowed the margin to one by sinking a trey via one of Johanson’s assists. With less than 10 minutes to go in the opening frame, Brummond hit a 3-pointer to garner the Jaguars’ first lead of the game.

“She comes out with enthusiasm,” Uttech said about Brummond. “She came out, was fired up and ready to go.”

The Cyclones responded by rattling off six points, starting with sophomore forward MacKenzie Kruse’s feed to Hanson for two. Kruse then added her own shot before senior guard Hailey Embacher connected with junior forward Michaela Karels for a 23-18 lead at the 6:39 juncture.

Johanson quickly closed in on the lead with her second trey of the night.

With 4:34 remaining in the half, Brummond completed a 3-point play to tie the game at 26. The Jaguars then used the last three minutes of the game to secure a halftime lead. Senior center Kenlie Pytleski started the effort by breaking the 28-all tie, and Geistfeld added a hook shot to get in front of the Cyclones.

Geistfeld hit another shot on a putback for the 34-31 lead. Hanson knocked in a final bucket of the half with 12 seconds to go, ultimately allowing the Jaguars the one-point advantage.

Senior guard Macy Quinn dished out one of her game-best five assists to Pytleski at the beginning of the second half to put the Jaguars up, 38-35.

Karels banked in two free throw shots and Hanson put up a shot to reclaim the Cyclones’ lead. But, the Jaguars got things rolling with eight unanswered points. Brummond assists on both Johanson’s 3-pointer and Pytleski’s shot that turned into a 3-point play.

Brummond connected with the 6-foot-1 center, who was fouled on her made shot. With the extra basket at the foul line, the Jaguars went up, 49-44.

Senior forward Renae Wallace then made good on a low post layup before Cyclones head coach Brian Noyes called for a timeout.

Junior guard Abby Nicolai ended the Cyclones’ scoring drought with a quick basket right after the short break. Embacher then passed out to Olivia Drummer for the open 3 to bring the Cyclones within two. Drummer also got a putback bucket for a 52-51 deficit with 8:06 left in the game.

Once again, the Jaguars shut down the Cyclones and stretched out to a seven-point lead. Johanson knocked down a short jumper before using Brummond’s long pass to get a layup in transition.

Brummond and Pytleski later each made a foul shot for a 58-51 lead.

The Jaguars continued to pile on to their lead and went up by double digits on Pytleski’s charity toss at the 2:20 mark. Quinn followed it up by dishing out an assist to Brummond for a corner 3 and 68-57 score.

The home team outscored its opponent, 10-4, in the final three minutes of the contest to pocket the victory.

“They probably got five layups in the first half on us, and we wanted to shut that down. I don’t think they got a one on us in fastbreak in the second half,” Uttech said about the Cyclones, which went 5-for-20 shooting in the second half. “We had to get our help defense going better and try to get pressure on them.”

Johanson made 8 of 17 shots to accumulate 18 points while crashing the boad for four rebounds. Geistfeld added another double-double to her resume with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Pytleski went 7-for-9 from the field to record 17 points, along with seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

“Hanna (Geistfeld) and Kenlie were tough inside getting rebounds, putbacks and looking for each other. They did a nice job looking for each other and playing smart,” Uttech said.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther (5-1) plays host to Madelia at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday night in Truman in another conference game.

GHECTML (74)

Hannah Johanson 8-17 0-2 18, Kenlie Pytleski 7-9 3-5 17, Hanna Geistfeld 6-11 4-5 17, Alexis Brummond 5-10 2-3 15, Macy Quinn 1-5 0-0 3, Renae Wallace 1-1 0-0 2, Marissa Steinhaus 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-56 9-15 74.

ST. CLAIR (59)

Olivia Drummer 5-11 2-2 14, Joci Hanson 5-8 1-1 12, Michaela Karels 2-4 6-7 10, Hailey Embacher 4-14 0-0 10, MacKenzie Kruse 3-6 1-2 7, Cassidy Anderegg 2-5 0-0 4, Abby Nicolai 1-1 0-0 2, Danielle Lynch 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 10-12 59.

3-pointers: GHECTML 7-21 (Brummond 3-8, Johanson 2-7, Geistfeld 1-2, Quinn 1-2); St. Clair 5-20 (Drummer 2-5, Embacher 2-8, Hanson 1-3, Anderegg 0-2, Kruse 0-2). Fouled out: Drummer. Rebounds: GHECTML 26 (Geistfeld 11, Pytleski 7); St. Clair 25 (Embacher and Karels 5 each). Assists: GHECTML 15 (Quinn 5); St. Clair 11 (Embacher, Drummer 3 each). Steals: St. Clair 9 (Drummer 4); GHECTML 7.

Martin County West 55, Madelia 23 — Sierra Williamson went 4-for-5 from the field to produce 14 points in the Mavericks’ Valley Conference victory over the Blackhawks on Thursday night in Madela.

Sierra Williamson added seven rebounds and four steals to her team-leading scoring effort.

Hunter Wrightson chipped in 11 points, while Maia Taylor crashed the boards for a Mavericks-high 12 rebounds, along with three assists and six points.

Renae Eckmann lead the Mavericks in steals with five to complement 10 rebounds and four points. Alyssa Williamson garnered seven points, and Karlee Thiesse recorded four steals.

The Mavericks went 18-for-52 from the floor and made 17 of 26 at the free throw line.

Martin County West (6-0) travels to St. Clair on Tuesday night.

Boys Basketball

St. Peter 71, Fairmont 68 — Jordein Marquette scored 24 points to help the Saints to a three-point win over the Cardinals during Big South Conference action on Thursday night in St. Peter.

Walker Tordsen led the Cardinals with a game-best 25 points, five rebounds and three assists, while teammate Sam Schwieger poured in 21 points and distributed four assists.

Brady Allen contributed eight points and six rebounds, while Nate Kallenbach had five points and four rebounds for Fairmont.

The Cardinals made 20 of 41 shots from 2-point range and 6 of 17 from behind the 3-point arc, while going 10-for-17 at the foul line.

Fairmont (1-3) travels at Marshall on Tuesday night.

St. Peter edged Fairmont, 38-36, during B-squad action on Thursday night in St. Peter.

Nick Eversman scored 11 points for Fairmont, Dustin Schultz knocked in seven points, Hayden Berhow notched five points and Dan Reiter recorded four points.

Fairmont’s C-squad defeated St. Peter, 51-38, on Thursday night in St. Peter.

Joey Flohrs and Jacob Roberts produced a co-team-leading 13 points in the victory. Dan Betts added seven points for the Cardinals.

United South Central 65, Martin County West 46 — Ryan Kloos engineered a double-double’s effort of 33 points and 23 rebounds in the Rebels’ triumph over the Mavericks on Thursday night in Wells.

Kyle Brandt totaled eight points for a Rebels team that shot 13-for-23 from inside the arc and 8-for-24 from 3-point distance. The team also made 15 of 24 free throw attempts.

Wyatt Geistfeld led the Mavericks with 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals, while teammate Cole Owens scored 14 points.

The Mavericks shot 18 of 50 on the floor, including 15 of 36 2-pointers, while going 7-for-19 at the free throw line.

Martin County West (0-5, 0-1 Valley) hosts Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Sherburn.