With contributions from a host of players, the Becker Bulldog boys basketball team tipped off action last week with three victories, defeating Dassel-Cokato 67-39 in Thursday’s opener, downing North Branch 89-81 on Friday night and edging Monticello Tuesday, 64-61.

Head Coach Josh Ihrke was proud of his young team for going on the road on consecutive nights and finding two completely different ways to win ball games. Then, following things up with a big win at home against Magic.

Becker 67, DC 39

“We did have some first game jitters against D-C,” said Ihrke, noting his team’s 29 turnovers.  “But we kept them away from the rim and their jump shots weren’t accurate because of our defense.”

For the game, the Chargers shot just 26% from the field, while Becker hit on 51% of its shots.

Becker used a balanced attack to take a 38-19 lead at halftime, and then used a 41-21 advantage in defensive rebounding to make sure the Chargers could not get back into the game.  For the game, the Bulldogs held a 14-5 advantage in second-chance points.

“Offensively, Eric Seavert and Brady Paumen led us in points and they were both pretty efficient,” said Ihrke.  “Brady finished the night a plus 39, which is one of the highest ratings I’ve seen in a long time.”

Becker Scoring

Alex Weiss 7 pts, 7 rebounds; Nick Berglund 7 pts, 3 steals; Kyle Vogl 2 pts; Ryan Bengtson 3 pts; Nick Knute 6 pts; Hayden Harmoning 3 pts, 7 rebounds; Seavert 19 pts; Paumen 18 pts, 13 rebounds; Landen Goebel 2 pts.

Becker 89, North Branch 81

In Friday night’s contest, North Branch led by as many as five points in the second half before Becker caught its second wind and pulled away for the high scoring win.

“I knew going into this game that North Branch had a lot of experience and they are a good shooting team,” said Ihrke, whose team shot 10-25 from long range.  “Defensively we did a good job of contesting their shots and on offense, we had a good mix of inside and outside scoring.”

Playing its second game in two nights led to a lull in energy in the second half, but Ihrke counted on his bench for a spark.  

“Nick Berglund came off the bench and provided great energy and scored 13 points for us,” said Ihrke.  “It’s going to take a lot of guys in different roles to give us important minutes.”

Becker was on the attack all night on offense, leading to foul trouble for the Vikings, who saw two of their key players foul out in the game.  

Meanwhile, Becker cut down on turnovers (19 for the game) and held a 46-34 advantage in rebounding to seal the win.

“Nick Knute’s energy and making plays at key moments was big for us,” added Ihrke, noting Knute’s 23 points.  “We couldn’t run the fast break as much as in the first game so we had to execute in the half court offense.”

Overall, Ihrke could not have asked more for the first week of basketball contests.

“It’s nice to have two good games and get a couple of wins early in the season,” said Ihrke.  “This good experience is crucial for our young team.”

Becker scoring

Weiss 9 pts; Berglund 13 pts, 7 rebounds; Knute 23 points; Harmoning 4 pts, 6 rebounds; Seavert 19 pts, Paumen 19 pts, 8 rebounds, Goebel 2 pts.

Becker 64, Monticello 61

Tuesday night, the Bulldogs pushed their record to 3-0 on the season by edging the Monticello Magic 64-61. 

Becker trailed by two at the half, 30-28, but came back to earn the conference victory behind Brady Paumen’s 16 second half points.  Becker’s defense also came up strong, allowing the Magic just 6 free throw attempts in the second half after Monticello had 13 chances from the charity stripe in the opening stanza.

Becker scoring

Alex Weiss 9; Nick Berglund 7; Nick Knute 9; Hayden Harmoning 6; Eric Seavert 9; Paumen 22; Landen Goebel 2.