Cubs boys pull away from Bulldogs, drop high-stakes game to Huskers

Paynesville

Cubs head boys’ basketball coach Jay Klein saw his team dig in on defense to start the second half versus the Paynesville Bulldogs. 

Behind a 12-2 run to start this half, the Cubs turned a 33-30 halftime edge into a 13-point lead at 45-32. The Cubs held off a Bulldogs rally, and later pulled away for the 72-55 conference road win on Tuesday, Feb. 11. 

Coach Klein called the first half a “competitive” one. The Cubs built an eight-point lead halfway through the opening frame. Then the Bulldogs rallied back to tie the game at 19-19 before the Cubs went into halftime with that three-point edge. 

After that Cubs’ strong second half start, the Bulldogs battled back to cut the Cubs’ lead to five, at 50-45, with about seven minutes left in the game. 

Owen Mortenson then hit what coach Klein referred to as a “big” three-point shot to push the Cubs’ lead back to 10. The team remained in control, coach Klein said, to pull away with the 17-point victory.

“They really struggled stopping our inside game with Bryant Knaus collecting 26 points on the night. Jed Spaulding was an absolute beast on the boards hauling in 21 (rebounds),” coach Klein said via email. “We also did a great job taking care of the ball with only six turnovers on the night.”

Bryant Knaus not only recorded those 26 points, but also 10 rebounds to post a double-double performance. Andray Stang also hit double figures with 12 points, along with three steals, and Mortenson 11 points, with six assists.

Holdingford

The Cubs came into their home match-up with the Holdingford Huskers with much on the line. Both teams sat tied atop the Central Minnesota Conference, and the winner of this game would sit at the top alone.

In this high-stakes game, the Cubs got off to a slow start, falling into an early 11-2 deficit, forcing Cubs head coach Jay Klein to take a timeout. 

After closing the gap with four straight points, the Cubs allowed an 8-0 Huskers run to drop into a 19-6 hole, forcing another Cubs timeout. The team couldn’t rally all the way back from this slow start and fell by an 86-68 final, snapping the team’s seven-game winning streak.

“Holdingford shot well the entire first half,” coach Klein said via email, “and it was probably our worst defensive half of basketball for the year.”

At halftime, the Cubs trailed 45-25. The deficit grew to as high as 29, at 55-26, but the Cubs went on a 26-5 run to cut the deficit to nine, at 60-51. The Cubs got no closer.

In the loss, the Cubs committed 22 turnovers, and allowed the Huskers’ top two scorers to post 29 and 18 points.

“I was disappointed in our defense on a night with so much at stake,” coach Klein said via email.

Bryant Knaus led the Cubs with 18 points, along with four assists. Owen Mortenson posted 17 points, seven rebounds, and four assists; and Jed Spaulding 17 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Andray Stang also posted double figures for the Cubs with 10 points.

Next action

After beginning a run of four straight road games versus Sauk Centre Feb. 17 and versus Spectrum Feb. 18, the Cubs play at Eden Valley-Watkins on Thursday, Feb. 20, and end their road run at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Tuesday, Feb. 25.