Staff photo by Jake Olson: Fairmont's Logan Junkermeier squares up against Deron Russell and the Waseca defense during Thursday night's contest in the Fairmont High School gymnasium.

FAIRMONT – All eyes were on Deron Russell. The future North Dakota State football commit entered Thursday night’s contest against Fairmont as one of the more prolific players in the southern Minnesota basketball landscape, averaging over 30 points per game while tallying breakout performances against St. Peter and Glencoe-Silver Lake with 43 and 46 points, respectively.

While not reaching nearly those heights against the Cardinals, Russell’s step-back 3-pointer with two minutes in the contest fueled his 16-point second half, guiding the Bluejays (16-7) to a 57-54 victory that snapped Fairmont’s (19-3) previous winning streak of 14 games.

“At the end of the day, they made a few more shots than we did,” Fairmont head coach Jared Thompson said. “Both teams played really well defensively in the game, and I thought well offensively in the second half. But they made that five-point run with Russell’s 3 and the offensive rebound putback that proved to be the difference in the end.”

Russell finished his night leading all Bluejays with 21 points on seven made field goals, three of which came from behind the arc. Waseca guard Ethan Hiller joined him in double figures with 13 points, while Owen Honstad had nine.

Fairmont frontcourt duo Logan Junkermeier and Reed Johnson both reached double figures. Junkermeier commanded a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double while Johnson missed just two field goals to charge his 14-point scoring effort. Joe Long had five points and two steals.

Defense was the main priority during the opening half of this contest. Both teams drew up schemes and looks in hopes of thwarting each other’s strengths.

Fairmont’s 2-3 zone, a staple in their defensive catalogue, worked well at harnessing Waseca’s perimeter play, emphasizing closeouts while making each shot Russell took a contested one. The guard walked into the locker room with just five points at the break.

This formula worked well in the first five minutes of the contest. The Cardinals forced a handful of deflections and steals to lead to an opening 8-2 lead following Jordan Thompson’s interior pass to Junkermeier in the paint.

Bluejay head coach Seth Anderson shared a similar mindset in attempting to limit Junkermeier’s damage in the post. Anderson and his staff used an aggressive man-to-man concept with Waseca’s athletic backcourt.

Placing a focus on help-side defense, Junkermeier faced the challenge of multiple defenders anytime he got near the ball, not just when he had possession. This forced a slew of contested deep shots while making it difficult to even give the big man a touch.

After consecutive misses from Joseph Hackett and Tavian Harvey from the perimeter, a Russell pull-up jumper gave the Bluejays their biggest lead of the half at 12-8.

“They make it really hard to reverse the ball and have great help-side defense,” coach Thompson said. “We were just trying to force it into stuff that wasn’t there. We just have to space the floor better, but they make it really hard.”

Johnson became the stabilizer for the Cardinals. With Waseca’s eyes peeled to his running mate Junkermeier, Johnson found favorable one-on-one matchups in which the junior capitalized emphatically. Johnson cashed in on two low-post layups to push the Cardinals ahead 22-16, but Honstad answered by threading a pass to Miller down low to send Waseca into halftime trailing by four.

Coach Thompson and his staff encouraged their team to be more assertive in the second half. Rather than being patient through the offensive sets, Fairmont looked to attack before Waseca’s defense could rotate, prompting more looks down low and open shots on the perimeter.

A layup from Johnson and a post hook from Junkermeier gave Fairmont the immediate 29-22 cushion. Brayden Williamson finished off the Cardinal scoring run after a baseline drive kicked the ball out to Thompson for a corner 3-pointer, putting his team up nine as Anderson called a timeout with 10:53 to go.

“In the second half, the ball moved, the bodies moved, and it took their help away,” coach Thompson said. “The guys really took those halftime talking points and played well offensively.”

Waseca answered with offensive adjustments of their own out of the timeout. While Russell hadn’t been as effective in the scoring department, his presence on the court continued to demand attention from Fairmont.

He used that gravity to his advantage, dumping the ball off to Toby Jeske before Honstad made work of the collapsed defense with two 3-pointers, giving the Bluejays their first lead since the middle of the opening half, 35-34.

“Anytime you allow that middle penetration, those passing lanes are open,” coach Thompson said. “They really didn’t bother us when just passing the ball around [the perimeter], but when they were able to drive middle and kick, that hurt us tonight, and that was Russell.”

Fairmont and Waseca continued to trade baskets through the rest of the game. Junkermeier prompted the 14th lead change of the second half after an and-one layup tied things up at 48 apiece at the three-minute mark.

After Hackett couldn’t match Russell’s tie-breaking 3-pointer, Wyatt Hager’s offensive rebound putback gave his team a 53-48 cushion, causing coach Thompson to burn a timeout with 53 seconds on the clock.

Junkermeier buried a transition 3-pointer that brought his team within three points five possessions later. Following two missed free throws on the other end from Russell, Williamson heaved a potentially equalizing outside shot that ultimately didn’t fall through the net.

“We had some really good looks under two minutes to tie it, but they didn’t go tonight,” coach Thompson said. “We hadn’t been in a one-possession game all year, so it was fun to be in the moment. We can all do things better.”

The Cardinals play Jackson County Central this Saturday, starting at 7:30 p.m. Fairmont topped the Huskies 55-47 in their last meeting on Dec 12.