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No. 3 MCW staves off Blue Earth Area in non-league clash, 60-51

BOARD BATTLE — Blue Earth Area’s Ashton Lloyd (23) and Martin County West’s Tanner Sinn (13) soar high above the hardwood court in Trimont to battle for a rebound during nonconference basketball action Monday night. The Mavericks’ Cash Owens (23), Mitchell Weber (12), Owen Runkle (second from left) and Zach Anderson, along with the Bucs’ Jack Norman (4), observe the battle. (Photo by Greg Abel)

TRIMONT — Cash Owens and Tanner Sinn triggered Class 1A No. 3-ranked Martin County West’s 13-2 first-half run to a 30-17 lead by intermission before Ashton Lloyd served as the key catalyst behind Blue Earth Area’s second-half comeback that narrowed the gap to 40-35 with 9 minutes to go.

Mitchell Weber’s 3-point prowess and Zach Anderson’s flawless free throw-shooting helped the hometown Mavericks stave off the upset-minded Bucs, 60-51, during the good-to-the-last-shot non-league clash in Trimont on Monday night.

“That was a good win — one we really needed to get back on track after losing two of our previous three games,” said Martin County West head coach Cliff Anderson. “I thought we defended Lloyd well in the first half, limiting him to four points, but he did a nice job of finding ways to score against us in the second half.”

Lloyd, who poured in half of the Bucs’ 34 second-half points to finish with 21, floated in a 15-foot fadeaway to whittle the Mavericks’ margin to 11-10 with 10 1/2 minutes left in the opening half.

Enter Owens.

“Cash did a nice job coming off the bench to give us a spark on both ends of the court. We’re used to his defense and rebounding, but he contributed six clutch points for us tonight,” said Cliff Anderson.

Weber, who finished with 16 points and four assists, nailed the first of his four 3-pointers to ignite MCW’s pivotal 13-2 surge midway through the first segment.

Sinn, who delivered yet another double-double performance of 16 points and a game-best 14 rebounds to complement five steals, sank a pair of free throws before Owens tossed in a baseline runner and then sank two free throws to capitalize on a breakaway steal.

Bucs’ point guard Gabe Torres interrupted the run by hitting a pull-up jumper from 15 feet, but Owens and Sinn would answer. Owens fed Sinn for a baseline jumper before Zach Anderson’s steal led to Owens’ putback basket and a 24-12 MCW lead with 2 1/2 minutes left before halftime.

Abram Kokos, however, gave the Bucs a last-second spark by drilling a 3-pointer off a Lloyd pass to slice the gap to 13. Lloyd and Austin Skaden then made back-to-back 3s to open the second half to narrow BEA’s deficit to just seven.

Down 37-25, Kokos drained another trifecta off one of Torres’ four assists before Torres transformed a steal into a traditional 3-point play. Lloyd’s low-post bank shot inched the Bucs within four at 37-33 with 10 minutes to go.

Weber, Zach Anderson and Sinn then countered with 3-point plays to trigger a 12-3 run that kept BEA at arm’s length on the scoreboard.

Weber swooshed a right-corner 3 off an Anderson penetrate-and-kick play before Anderson assembled an end-to-end keepsake. The 6-foot-6 post player blocked a shot, grabbed the board, drove the length of the court, hit the layup and the “and-1” for an 11-point edge.

Lloyd answered with a 3-pointer only to have Sinn and Weber knock down 3s for a 52-38 lead with 4 minutes remaining.

Anderson, who went 9-for-9 at the line to trigger the Mavericks’ 16-for-19 performance, and Weber combined to hit all eight charity tosses during the final 2:41 to seal the win.

Anderson produced 14 of his team-leading 19 points during the second half to complement four blocked shots and three steals for the Mavericks, while Owens finished with six points and four rebounds.

Torres produced nine points, four assists and three steals for the Bucs, while Jack Norman and Kokos each netted six points.

Martin County West (18-2 ) travels to Alden-Conger on Friday night for a Valley Conference game. Blue Earth Area (8-9) plays host to Waseca on Friday night in a Big South Conference contest.

BEA 17-34–51

MCW 30-30–60

MCW (60)

Z. Anderson 4-12 9-9 19, Sinn 6-13 3-5 16, Weber 5-11 2-2 16, Runkle 0-1 0-0 0, Bachenberg 0-1 0-0 0, Owens 2-2 2-3 6, Leiding 0-1 0-0 0, Finke 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 18-43 16-19 60.

B.E. AREA (51)

Lloyd 8-18 3-3 21, Kokos 2-6 0-0 6, J. Norman 3-5 0-3 6, Torres 4-15 1-2 9, Skaden 1-5 2-2 5, L. Norman 0-0 1-2 1, Carr 0-1 0-0 0, Ripley 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 19-51 7-12 51.

3-pointers: Martin County West 8-16 (Weber 4-6, Z. Anderson 2-5, Finke 1-1, Sinn 1-3, Leiding 0-1); Blue Earth Area 6-19 (Lloyd 2-4, Kokos 2-6, Ripley 1-1, Skaden 1-4, Torres 0-4). Fouled out: Lloyd. Rebounds: BEA 32 (Lloyd 12); MCW 29 (Sinn 14). Assists: MCW 9 (Weber 4); BEA 9 (Torres 4). Steals: MCW 15 (Sinn 5, Z. Anderson and Weber 3 each); BEA 11 (J. Norman and Torres 3 each). Blocked shots: MCW 7 (Z. Anderson 4); BEA 7 (Lloyd 5).

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