Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Brayden Williamson glides past Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial defender Colton Buss during the second half of Monday night's contest in the Fairmont High School gymnasium. The Cardinals 63-57 victory moves their record to 10-2.

FAIRMONT – Fairmont boys basketball head coach Jared Thompson always expected Monday night’s rematch against Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial to be a back-and-forth affair.

The Knights did everything in their power to get even from the Dec 29 defeat in the consolation rounds of the Kwik Trip Holiday Tournament. After an outside shot from Carter Lowis was followed by Colton Buss and Brayden Matthews stringing together a pair of layups, LCWM found themselves down 55-54 with just over four minutes to play in regulation.

Thompson’s team responded in impressive fashion two possessions later. Reed Johnson did everything to keep the offensive rebound alive, finding Joe Long on the perimeter who connected to Logan Junkermier down low for an easy finish.

This possession jump started a final scoring run of eight consecutive points to close out the game for Fairmont. Two free throws from Joseph Hackett sealed a 63-57 Cardinal victory, moving the team to a 10-2 record halfway through the 2025-2026 regular season.

Junkermeier finished his outing with 24 points on 11 made field goals while handling 10 rebounds. All of Hackett’s 10 points came inside the second half, including two bombs from beyond the perimeter and a floater in the paint. Three other Cardinals had at least six points.

“They [LCWM] just have a lot of length and good decision makers,” Thompson said after the win. “They shoot the ball well and are so long on the wing, so it just presented some big challenges for us.”

The Knight’s hot shooting proved to be a major factor in Monday night’s first half. Head coach Logan Manska slowly but surely figured out Fairmont’s 2-3 zone, shifting the ball from side to side before finding an open look where the defense wasn’t.

LCWM took its biggest lead of the contest in the final moments before break. Sharpshooter Brayden Matthews nailed consecutive 3-pointers before Buss did his part in the interior with two more makes down low, giving the Knights a 35-26 edge.

Fairmont responded with two quick layups to cut into the lead, the latter coming from a crafty Brayden Williamson scoop shot as time expired.

“The challenge that Lake Crystal presents with that [playing a 2-3 zone] is that they move the ball so well,” Thompson said. “When the ball got to the middle, we really had to match up and find the shooters, and in the first half we didn’t do a great job of that.”

The focal point of Thompson’s halftime adjustment stemmed from on-ball defense. While players aren’t responsible for individual matchups, Fairmont needed to focus on staying in front of LCWM guards and preventing uncontrollable lapses in the zone.

“You have to contain the bounce better,” Thompson said. “Even if you are in a zone and you have Logan [Junkermeier] behind you, that doesn’t mean you just let them free. That puts us in rotation and puts Logan in a bind.”

Fairmont’s defense began to suffocate the explosive abilities of LCWM’s perimeter scoring attack coming out of the game’s intermission. The Cardinals forced a plethora of turnovers and contested looks during the second half, paving the way for more opportunities on the opposite side of the court.

Hackett was the jump starter for Fairmont’s offense. The senior led things off with a 3-pointer from the left side for the halves first score. He followed that up with a one-handed push shot three feet from the basket, immediately tying things up at 35 apiece and giving the Cardinals all the momentum.

“Once Joseph knocks one down that usually gets him going,” Thompson said. “When that one went in, that was what he needed.”

Hackett knocked down one more perimeter shot before finding a flashing Johnson in transition for an easy layup. Manska called an immediate timeout with 11:39 left to play after witnessing his team face its largest deficit of the second half at 48-42.

Fairmont (10-2) will face Luverne on Tuesday night in the Fairmont High School gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.