INSIDE TWO — Martin County West post player Wyatt Williamson moves inside of St. Clair’s Connor Whittet for a basket during Valley Conference action Monday night in Sherburn. (Photo by Greg Abel)

SHERBURN — By watching Zach Anderson’s pre-game 3-point shooting ritual, you knew something special was brewing for him and his Maverick teammates. He didn’t disappoint.

Anderson swished seven 3s en route to a 78-62 Valley conference basketball victory over the St. Clair Cyclones on Monday night in Sherburn.

“Warm-ups, I was feeling pretty good. I was getting good looks in the game. I was in rhythm. My teammates found me when I was open. I was just knocking them down. Being in the lead most of the game was nice. It relieves a little pressure off of you at the end of the game,” Anderson said.

The 6-foot-6 senior forward picked up from where he left off during the previous match-up (17 points) with the Cyclones, finishing with 35 points — with 26 of them in the first period to go with nine rebounds.

The Cyclones earned their first and only lead of the game with 16:34 left of the opening frame on a 3-point bucket by guard Ethan Preston.

Anderson used his crafty ability to get to the charity strip as center Brandon Karels fouled Anderson at the 15:21 mark. Swishing the two shot attempts the Mavericks grabbed the lead and never looked back at 4-3.

Guard Jamesson Forsberg led the MCW defense by converting a steal into a lay-up to extend the home team’s lead to 21-12 with 8:13 remaining in the period.

Junior guard Connor Whittet made things interesting for the Cyclones by converting back-to-back 3s to trail only 26-18 with 6:02 left of the first period.

In the two teams’ previous meeting, MCW’s Mitchell Weber scored 29 points, but on Monday night, the Mavericks’ senior guard finished with 15. Weber was a little banged up but showed toughness by knocking down a jumper inside the paint with 1:47 left of the period for a 43-26 lead.

The Cyclones defense hunkered down and found a way to cool off Anderson and Weber in the second half, but couldn’t find an answer for junior guard Hunter Schmidt as he would drain three key 3s to finish with nine points.

“The second half they started denying me the ball and not switching on ball picks. They always had a guy with me. They were challenging every shot attempt I could get off. Finding my teammates open is the next best thing I can do. It’s always nice to pass the ball, too,” Anderson said.

Schmidt later displayed his hustle by grabbing an offensive rebound before passing to senior center Wyatt Williamson for the score to create a 49-37 lead for MCW.

The Cyclones showed some life in the second half by sparking an 11-3 run. Caleb Mathiowetz spotted junior guard Austin Segal for the rare 4-point play with 7:39 remaining in the game.

“They came out the second half and set the tone. We weren’t ready to match it. We knew he (Whittet) could score. We lost him a couple times. We sank a too much on him. We had to call a timeout to get the guys focused more defensively. We were taking some off-balance shots and not high quality shots. When we decided to play basketball and took good shots, then we were pretty good,” Mavericks coach Cliff Anderson said.

Three minutes later, Schmidt would deliver back-to-back 3s firing from the right and left side of the arc, erupting the Mavericks bench with the assist from Weber, who finished with a game-high seven.

The Mavericks (11-8) have now won five of their last six games and have improved to their record to 11-0 when scoring 61 or more points in a game this season.

Martin County West plays host to Luverne tonight in Sherburn.

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 63, Alden-Conger 60 — Jakob Fischer and Jackson Madsen each collected double-doubles to help the Jaguars scratch out a three-point Valley Conference victory over the Knights on Monday night in Alden.

Fischer produced game-bests of 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Madsen delivered 15 points and pulled down 10 boards.

Carter Fox generated 18 points, six rebounds and three assists for the Jaguars, Kayden Loeschen contributed seven points and seven boards, while Peyton Franzen chipped in a co-game-best 12 rebounds to go with three assists.

GHECTML built a 37-29 halftime lead and never looked back.

The Jaguars (9-8) play host to Madelia on Thursday night in Northrop.

Girls Basketball

Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther 70, Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 45 — McKenna Benck neared double-double territory, while twins Brianna and Bethany Petrowiak packed a lethal 1-2 punch to engineer the Jaguars’ 25-point Valley Conference victory on Monday night in Alden.

McKenna Benck tossed in 17 points, grabbed seven rebounds and doled out three assists, while the Petrowiak siblings each netted 12 points.

Bethany Petrowiak finished with a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds to complement pocketing six steals, while Brianna Petrowiak added five rebounds and four steals.

Keira Benck scored nine points and grabbed five boards for the Jaguars, while Madisen Lewis added eight points and seven caroms.

The Jaguars (10-6) play host to Madelia tonight in Truman in another conference game.