The Monticello Magic knocked off the Becker Bulldogs in a section boys basketball semifinal matchup last Friday, 72-58.  With the loss, Becker completed another extremely successful season under second year Head Coach Cory Nuest and finished with a record of 17-11 overall.

It was the third matchup of the season for the two teams, with the M8 Champion Magic showing the consistency that made them 12 point winners in the first two matchups.

Sawyer Brown and Bryce Paumen led the effort early for Becker, scoring 10 points apiece in the opening stanza to combine for 20 of the Dogs’ 25 first half points.

Becker trailed by as many as 16 points in the first half, but the Dogs put a flurry together to move to within seven, 32-25 at halftime.

Becker kept it close in the second half, and with about seven minutes left in the game, Brown and Paumen each blocked a shot and Landon Peterson hit three long range bombs in a row as the Bulldogs climbed to within eight points.  But the Magic called a timeout and regained their composure to put the game away.

Brown led the offense with 21 points, while Paumen added 15 and Peterson 13.

Vs. Tigers

Tuesday night, Becker opened section play with a nice 89-74 win over Princeton.  Becker trailed by just a bucket at halftime, but used a huge second half to put the game on ice.

The first half was a yo-yo affair, as Becker led 27-15 before the Tigers came back and connected from long range to assume a 34-31 lead.  Nuest used a timeout and Senior Mitch Soltau responded with a pair of rebounds and a slashing score at the bucket to help bring Becker back.

The second half started with Peterson hitting a big three, and after trading buckets, the game was tied at 52 apiece.  From there, Isiah Boyer, Nathan Weiss, Brown and Peterson all hit three point shots to give Becker a 10 point lead, 73-63.  Once again, the Tigers responded and were down just three when Troy Nuest came up with a big steal to turn the momentum back to Becker.

Brown and Soltau each had 18 points for Becker, while Paumen chipped in 16.  Weiss had 15 and Peterson 10 to give the Bulldogs five players in double figures.