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Frank steers Fairmont cagers to win over Blue Earth Area

BLUE EARTH — After six ties and eight lead changes in Tuesday night’s clash of Big South basketball rivals in Blue Earth, Fairmont’s 6-foot-7 center Wyatt Frank went into what Cardinal head coach Jared Thompson referred to as “beast mode” during the stretch run.

Frank, who finished with a game-best double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds, produced seven points during Fairmont’s pivotal 12-0 surge midway through the second half to trigger an eventual 54-43 triumph over the Cameron Anderson-less Blue Earth Area Bucs.

“Wyatt dominated in the paint during the second half for us tonight,” Thompson said in reference to Frank, who garnered 10 points and six boards during the final 18 minutes of regulation. “He managed to post up deeper in the low blocks and then was able to score from just about every angle.”

Zach Herrmann, who collected a double-double of 12 points and a co-game-high 10 rebounds, drained a 3-pointer and Austin Thielfoldt’s breakaway layup off Braden Gudahl’s three-quarter court pass inched the Bucs within 37-36 and caused Thompson to call timeout at the 10:55 juncture.

“During that timeout, we (coaching staff) emphasized getting the ball inside and Wyatt took over from there,” said Thompson.

Frank hit a putback basket and then converted one of Zach Jorgensen’s three assists into a low-post leaner. Jorgensen then tossed in two of his 14 points on a drive in the lane to re-establish a seven-point Fairmont edge at 43-36 and forced Blue Earth Area head coach Colby Swanson to call timeout with 7:47 remaining in regulation.

The Bucs’ defense doubled down in the low post, but the Cardinals countered as Frank and Carter Bell sank back-to-back 3-pointers to widen the gap to 49-36 before Sam Keister hit a putback basket to end the Bucs’ scoreless span with 5:20 left in the second half.

Keister produced 12 of his team-best 14 points during the opening half to keep Blue Earth Area either within two points or ahead by two.

After Herrmann’s baseline leaner produced the game’s first tie at 18-all, Bell — a former Bucs’ player — and Keister squared off in a mini-shootout during the final 5 minutes before intermission. Bell, who finished with 12 points, hit a 12-foot push shot in the paint to knot the game at 24-all before sinking two free throws with six-tenths of a second showing on the scoreboard for the narrow two-point lead.

The Bucs were playing without leading scorer and rebounder Cameron Anderson, who suffered an ankle injury during last Friday night’s narrow 56-55 loss to St. Peter.

“Our guys battled back after Cam went out of the game last week, but it’s nice to have him on the court,” said Swanson. “He’s not only a scorer, but creates a lot of (offensive) opportunities for his teammates when he’s out there.

“Hopefully, we’ll have him healthy and back for our next game with Fairmont in 10 days (Feb. 7 in Fairmont).”

Fairmont (8-6) plays host to St. James Area on Thursday night, while Blue Earth Area (6-7) plays host to New Ulm.

Fairmont 26-28–54

B.E. Area 24-19–43

FAIRMONT (54)

Frank 7-17 1-2 17, Hested 2-7 0-0 6, Jorgensen 5-8 4-9 14, Bell 4-12 2-3 12, Baarts 1-2 0-0 2, Flohrs 1-3 0-0 3, Toomer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 7-14 54.

B.E. AREA (43)

Herrmann 4-11 3-4 12, Keister 6-10 2-2 14, Gudahl 2-9 2-3 6, Thielfoldt 3-9 0-0 6, Storbeck 0-4 0-0 0, Strukel 1-6 0-0 3, Howard 1-2 0-0 2, Morrow 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 7-9 43.

3-pointers: Fairmont 7-19 (Frank 2-2, Hested 2-6, Bell 2-8, Flohrs 1-3); B.E. Area 2-16 (Strukel 1-3, Herrmann 1-5, Gudahl 0-3, Thielfoldt 0-3, Storbeck 0-2). Fouled out: None. Rebounds: Fairmont 34 (Frank 10, Jorgensen 9); B.E. Area 25 (Herrmann 10). Assists: Fairmont 8 (Jorgensen 3); B.E. Area 6 (Storbeck 3). Steals: B.E. Area 8 (Herrmann 3); Fairmont 7 (Baarts 3).

Blue Earth Area defeated Fairmont in B-squad action, 47-33, Tuesday night in Blue Earth.

David Maakestad and Armando Hernandez each scored eight points to top the Cardinals’ effort.

Levi Pooley netted 16 points to power Fairmont to a 57-26 victory over Blue Earth Area during C-squad play Tuesday night in Blue Earth.

Jaime Mueller supplied 12 points for the Cardinals.

Mankato Loyola 58, Martin County West 48 — The Mavericks stormed back from a 17-point deficit with 4 minutes to go in regulation and tied it to send their Valley Conference matchup to overtime, but the Crusaders used a 15-5 edge in the extra session to net the win Tuesday night in Mankato.

Wyatt Geistfeld led the Mavericks with a double-double performance of 24 points and 12 rebounds to complement a co-team-high four steals.

Zach Anderson added solid numbers of eight points, seven rebounds and a co-team-high four steals, while Derek Dunlop totalled six points and five rebounds.

The Mavericks shot 17 of 35 from 2-point range and made 14 of 21 free throws, but went scoreless from beyond the arc in 19 attempts.

Ben Ellingworth led the Crusaders with 26 points on seven 3-pointers, while Lawson Godfrey scored 11 points on three 3s. Simon Morgan added nine points to Loyola’s winning ways.

The Crusaders made 10 of 14 free throws, 10 of 25 2-point attempts and 9 of 22 tries from beyond the 3-point line.

The loss ended a streak of 11 consecutive Maverick wins.

Martin County West (14-2, 5-1 Valley) plays the Truman/Martin Luther/GHEC Jaguars at 7:15 p.m. Thursday night in Granada.

Belmond-Klemme 59, North Union 44 — A balanced offense with four players in double digit scoring powered the Broncos past the Warriors in Top of Iowa Conference basketball action Tuesday in Armstrong.

Jordan Meyer led the Broncos with 14 points, while Carson Lane, Kaleb Carlson and Tristan Yoder each had 11.

Robert Ortman led the Warriors as the only player in double-digit scoring with 11 points to complement a co-team high six rebounds.

Noah Morphew also had six rebounds, while Brendan Anderson added eight points and Avery Krantz scored seven. Braden Pierce scored five points and had a team-high three assists.

North Union (1-14) travels to Buffalo Center to face North Iowa at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

BK 20 7 17 15–59

NU 3 11 10 20–44

Girls Basketball

North Union 51, Belmond-Klemme 30 — The Warriors put together a balanced offensive attack to overpower the Broncos during Top of Iowa conference basketball play Tuesday in Armstrong.

Chloe Lofstrom led the Warriors with a co-team high nine points, to complement her team-high 12 rebounds, while Hope Steinberger totaled solid all-around numbers of nine points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Vanessa Von Bank dropped eight points, while Brooklyn Prochniak scored seven. Cassie Beadle led the Warriors with four steals, while May Laverty scored five points and grabbed seven boards.

North Union (10-6) travels to Buffalo Center to face North Iowa at 6:15 p.m. Thursday.

Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 57, Martin County West 41 — The Panthers posted a 16-point nonconference victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night in Tracy.

No individual or team statistics were provided by either program.

Martin County West (7-8) plays host to United South Central on Thursday night in Sherburn.

Spencer 53, North Union 38 — Allison Piercy netted 20 points and Jada Piercy tallied 18 more to power the Tigers to a 15-point non-league win over the Warriors on Monday night in Spencer, Iowa.

Power forward Chloe Lofstrom continued her string of double-double performances by scoring a game-best 23 points to complement pulling down a game-high 15 rebounds to pace North Union.

Lofstrom made 7 of 10 field goals and 9 of 13 free throws to pace her scoring effort.

Sam Nielsen and Brooklyn Prochniak chipped in four points apiece for the Warriors, while May Laverty garnered five boards.

The Warriors hit 13 of 23 shots from 2-point range and 12 of 21 at the free throw line.

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