The Becker Bulldogs boys basketball team played host for last Monday night’s border battle against the Big Lake Hornets, and for the first half it was all Becker, as Coach Josh Ihrke’s team jumped to a 48-32 halftime lead.  

However, in the second half the Hornets made a valiant comeback effort, narrowing the gap to single digits before Becker steadied the ship and sailed away with a 79-65 win.

“We started off the first half really distributing the ball well and attacking the paint with purpose,” Ihrke said. “It was fun to see our defense force them into tough shots and we executed at a high level.”

Becker showed great overall offensive balance all night, as eight different players scored for the Bulldogs, including three in double figures. Despite the big halftime lead, Ihrke knew that the Hornets would make a bid for a comeback in the second half.

“It is always a battle with Big Lake and they made a nice push but it was great to get the win,” Ihrke said. “Julias Hendricks put together a nice game on both ends of the floor for us.”

Hendricks ended the game with 14 points for the Bulldogs, including a 4-for-8 performance from beyond the arc. Joining him in double figures were Alex Weiss with 15 points, and Brady Paumen with 18 points and 14 rebounds.

For the game, the Bulldogs’ shooting prowess was the big difference, as they hit 51% of their shots to the Hornets’ 35%. Becker also dominated the paint, scoring 50 points in the lane to Big Lake’s 30.

Neither team suffered from foul trouble, as both clubs were whistled for just 13 personals in the game.

The loss dropped the Hornets to 6-7 overall and 1-3 in the conference, while Becker improved to 3-2 in the M8 and 9-4 overall.

Becker scoring: Alex Weiss, 15; Nick Berglund, seven; Julias Hendricks, 14; Ryan Bengtson, six; Hayden Harmoning, nine (four assists); Eric Seavert, six (eight rebounds); Brady Paumen, 18, Carter Callahan, four.

Big Lake scoring: Carson Kunz, eight (seven rebounds); Owen Layton, five; Kyle Segner, two; Kade Layton, 20; Joe Stepp, 12; Johnny O’Brien, 13; Hayden Thiele, two; Nolan Miller, three.

Tigers

A week ago last Friday, the Bulldogs suffered a loss to M8 leader Princeton, as the Tigers used a big first half push and then held on for a 86-75 win.

Haydn Stay had a big night for the Tigers, pouring in 21 points, as his team led at halftime 52-35. A big difference in the game was the Bulldogs’ 21 turnovers, which the Tigers turned into 23 points.

Becker was led by Alex Weiss, as the guard scored 19 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Eric Seavert also notched a double-double with 18 points and 12 Rebounds, while Brady Paumen added 18 points for the Bulldogs.

Becker scoring: Alex Weiss, 19; Tristan Pickwall, three; Julias Hendricks, seven; Ryan Bengtson, three; Hayden Harmoning, five (nine rebounds); Eric Seavert, 18; Brady Paumen, 18; Landen Goebel, two.

Storm

Last Monday night, the boys dropped a very close game to the Sauk Rapids-Rice Storm, 70-68.  The Storm hit a very difficult shot at the end to sneak away with the victory.

The stats for the game were extremely close in most categories, but the Bulldogs did turn the ball over four more times than their opponent.

The Bulldogs’ Julias Hendricks led all scorers in the game with 18 points, including a 6-for-10 performance from beyond the three point arc.

Becker scoring: Weiss, seven (four steals, six ausissts); Berglund, two; Hendricks, 18; Harmoning, six; Seavert, 17; Paumen, 14; Callahan, four.

Magic

Last Friday, the team dropped a contest to the Monticello Magic, 75-85.

Becker was down by 12 at halftime and came back with a nice performance to outscore the Magic by two points in the second half.

Scoring: Weiss, 11; Berglund, 17; Hendricks, six; Bengtson, five; Harmoning, six; Seavert, 14; Paumen, 14; Callahan, two.

Season Check-in

As the Bulldogs close out the first half of the season, Ihrke has been pleased with what he has witnessed from his team so far.

“So far in the season it has been really fun to see the development of the team and throughout the whole program,” Ihrke said. “We are continuing to improve on both ends of the floor and are engaging offensively and defensively. When we distribute the ball and make open shots we are going to be a tough opponent every night.”