Wolverines set new record for 3-pointers in home win

The Wolverines set a new mark for 3-pointers hit in a game when they hit 16 of them in the victory. It broke the old mark of 14 set by the Wolverines during a game with Frazee during the 2002-03 season. Bereket Loer and Jonathan Pantages combined for 10 of the 16 3-pointers in the game. The Wolverines were 16 of 36 from beyond the arc, hitting for 44 percent.

While the Wolverines had a lot of success on the offensive end of the floor, the struggles on the defensive side remained. The Wolverines have given up an average of 66.1 points per game, yet this time they gave up 81 points.

“It was a fun game. When we can make that many shots and shoot that well, it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Wadena-DC head coach Kevin Tumberg said. “On the flip side, we are excited that we went over the century mark, but we gave up 81 points. Sometimes when you see teams score in the 100’s or the high 90’s, they usually win by 40 or 50 points. Well, we only won by 21 points, so we have a lot of work to do on the defensive end.”

Noah Ross led the way with 26 points, while Loer hit for 24 points. Pantages added 17 in the game. In all, 12 players recorded points in the victory for the Wolverines. Ross recorded the double-double for the Wolverines, grabbing a team high of 13 rebounds.

James Clark led the way for Sebeka. He finished with 27 points, doing most of his damage in the first half. He scored 19 of his 27 points in the opening half. The Wolverines made an adjustment on defense and shut him down, forcing his teammates to try and erase a 10 point deficit. The move worked for the Wolverines as they expanded their 10-point lead to as many as 31 in the second half. Mason Dailey finished with 16 points in the second half and was the second leading scorer for the Trojans in the loss.

“I compare him to Noah Ross, you are not going to hold him to zero points or under 10 points most games,” Tumberg said. “He got loose a bit in the first half, but we really focused on making somebody else beat us in the second half and luckily it worked out in our favor.”

The Wolverines hit 10 first half 3-pointers and Tumberg talked to his assistants about possibly reigning the team on the outside shots. However, that idea was quickly erased from his mind as the Wolverines continued to hit from deep. The biggest thing for Tumberg though is the defensive side of the floor.

“We know we can score and we know we can play offense, but we have to be able to stop people on defense,” Tumberg said. “We have to bring our points allowed way down for us to get where we really want to be at the end of the year.”

The Wolverines opened on an 11-2 run behind 3-pointers from Loer, Matt Goeden and Ross, along with a basket inside from Goeden. The Wolverines maintained the lead throughout the first half, leading 45-35 at the break.

Sebeka closed the lead down to seven in the opening seconds of the second half, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Loer erased any thoughts of a comeback. The Wolverines continued the strong offense with 57 second half points.

The Wolverines move to 6-6 overall on the season and are now 4-1 in Park Region Conference play. Sebeka falls to 7-5 overall and 1-5 against conference opponents. The Wolverines are back on the floor against Verndale on Friday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.

SEB 35 46--81

WDC 45 57--102

SEB:James Clark 27, Jack Lillquist 10, Kolby Kiser 4, Mason Dailey 16, Dawson Bullock 8, William Hannu 10, Mason Heino 2, Tyce Lee 1, David Avelsgard

3-pointers: Clark 2, Dailey 3, Bullock 2, Hannu 2, Avelsgard. Free Throws: 13-22. Team Fouls: 16. Fouled Out: Dailey

WDC-Bereket Loer 24, Jonathan Pantages 17, Matt Goeden 8, Cade Kapphahn 2, Dawson Lupkes 3, Hunter Hawkins 3, Lucas Doyle 2, Mason Evans 3, Noah Ross 26, Ryan Anderson 8, Henry Fitzsimmons 4, Steven Thomas 1

3-pointers: Loer 5, Pantages 5, Goeden 2, Lupkes, Ross 3. Free Throws: 12-19. Team Fouls:17. Fouled Out: None