Fan Appreciation Night meant a packed gymnasium Tuesday night in Becker and the Bulldogs didn’t disappoint, scoring 100 points in a win over their Hwy. 10 rivals, the Big Lake Hornets.

The first play of the game set the tone for Becker, as Landon Peterson picked up a steal and fed an assist to Nathan Weiss for a deep three pointer.  Weiss would go on to score 11 of his 14 points in the opening half.

The Hornets showed fight early and kept the game close, as it was tied up at 23 apiece before Bulldogs Mitch Soltau and Troy Nuest provided some highlights. 

Nuest posted a four point play, hitting a three point shot and getting fouled, to give the Bulldogs a 29-26 lead and they never trailed again. Soltau posted four of his five three point shots in the first half and went on to score 16 points for the Bulldogs. After the early stalemate, Becker began to lock in as a team and built a 52-37 halftime lead.

Sawyer Brown and Peterson went on a scoring spree for Becker to open the second half, while their teammates provided steals, blocked shots, and assists as the Dogs used a 18-7 run to extend the score to 70-44. Peterson provided 15 of his 21 points in the second half, including five three-point shots, while Brown posted 14 of his 23 points after the intermission.

“We played this game unselfishly and productively,” Coach Cory Nuest said. 

With the game in hand, Nuest cleared the bench with five minutes left in the game, giving every fan in attendance the chance to cheer on their favorite Bulldog.

With the win, Becker improved to 15-8 on the season and 11-3 in M8 play, while the Hornets dropped to 7-14 overall and 6-8 in conference play.

Bluejackets

Last Friday, the Bulldogs used a huge second half to put away the Cambridge-Isanti Bluejackets, 89-67.  Becker trailed by one, 41-40 at halftime, but came out of the locker room with a vengeance on both ends of the court to push their M8 win streak to six games.

Cambridge used a three-quarter court trap to take a 25-16 lead over the Dogs early in the game, but a team effort brought Becker back to within one point at the intermission.

Coach Cory Nuest said his team’s attitude in the second half was all about “grit” and the Dogs responded.  Landon Peterson caused a turnover and hit a huge three, while Mitch Soltau hit a pair of three point shots bringing the Bulldogs to within a 52-53 deficit. 

“We found joy in competing and playing defense and the tides started to turn,” Nuest said.  

Troy Nuest lit a spark with a defensive charge taken, while Sawyer Brown took it to the rim, racking up 27 points and multiple steals. 

With back to back steals by Bryce Paumen and Peterson at the five minute mark, the Bulldogs were off to the races.

Stats: Mitch Soltau 13 points, seven deflections/steals; Landon Peterson nine points, six assists; Bryce Paumen 20 points, 14 rebounds; Sawyer Brown 27 points, six assists; Nathan Weiss 12 points, seven rebounds; Troy Nuest four points; Isiah Boyer four points, five assists.