Hornets eliminated in two games at District 8

The Velva Aggies defeated Harvey-Wells County in the opening round, and the Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood (MLS) Mavericks beat the Hornets in a loser-out game at the District 8 Boys Basketball Tournament, thus ending the HWC boys' season.

The Hornets finished the season at 11-11 overall in the inaugural season for the new alignment of Divison B basketball.

Velva 73, HWC 56

Velva started strong and stayed strong throughout the game, winning each quarter and eventually taking the District 8 quarterfinal game against HWC, 73-56, on Friday, February 23, at the Minot Municipal Auditorium.

A quick 4-0 start for Velva was answered by one of Jaxon Feist's two first quarter three-pointers. Mason McPeak hit a three and scored eight in the first, helping the Aggies to a lead of eight late in the first quarter. Avery Williams' two-and-one for HWC closed the gap to 20-14 after eight minutes of play.

An 8-2 start to the second, with McPeak picking up four points and Ben Schepp adding four more, moved the Aggie lead to 12. Keaton Keller and Tyler Swang answered with field goals, but Luke Selzler's three stopped the HWC run. McPeak's three late in the second gave him nine for the quarter ,and moved the lead to 14 for Velva. HWC's Ryan McKinven's offensive board and putback right before the halftime buzzer cut the Aggie lead to 12 at 42-30.

Keller scored four, and Noah Ziegler added another two as the Hornets opened the second half with six of the first eight points. HWC connected on 4-for-6 free throws midway through the third, cutting the lead to 51-42, but an 8-2 finish for Velva on six points from McPeak put the Aggie lead at 15 after three quarters.

Williams and Thorson knocked down threes, and Keller added a deuce early in the fourth to cut the lead to 10, but Velva stayed solid finishing with a 9-2 run to win by 17 and advance to the District 8 semifinals, where they matched up with Westhope-Newburg.

McPeak led all players in the game with 24 points, and was joined in double digits by Reggie Bruner with 16, Schepp with 13 and Selzler with 12. Williams came off the bench and led the Hornets with 13 points. Three other HWC players hit the double digit level, with Thorson scoring 12 and Keller and Feist each adding 10.

With the win, Velva extended their win streak to 11 games, while HWC dropped to 11-10 overall and into a District 8 loser out game against Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood.

MLS 48, HWC 37

Riley Morlock scored four of the first six points of the game, as the Mavericks opened up a quick 6-0 lead in a loser-out game on Monday, February 26.

The Hornets answered with two threes from Tyler Swang and a deuce from Jaxon Feist to take a two-point lead, but MLS would score the final four of the first to lead, 10-8, after one.

Morlock would score seven more in the second, and freshman Eli Undlin would add seven of his own, as the Mavericks outscored HWC, 16-10, in the second for a 26-18 halftime lead.

An 8-2 MLS start to the third quarter dealt a big blow to the Hornet chances, but HWC answered with five straight, including Swang's third three of the game to cut the lead to single digits. Undlin would score the final four points for MLS, including a rebound put-back at the buzzer, to give the Mavericks a 38-27 lead after three.

Carson Nett's three early in the fourth moved the Maverick lead to 16, but six from the Hornets including four straight from Keaton Keller pulled the Hornets back to within 11 midway through the fourth. The HWC run was the last one they could put together, as Braden Savelkoul and Morlock hit field goals to move the lead back to 15. Noah Ziegler and Keller scored late, but MLS would claim the victory, 48-37.

Undlin led the way for MLS with 17, while Morlock added 16 for the Mavericks, who moved their record to 14-8 on the season. Swang was the only player in double digits for HWC, as the junior scored 11.

District 8 Boys Basketball

Tournament, Minot

First Round

Velva 73, HWC 56

HWC 14 16 14 12 56

Velva 20 22 17 14 73

HWC: Avery Williams 13, Tallen Thorson 12, Jaxon Feist 10, Keaton Keller 10, Noah Ziegler 4, Tyler Swang 3, Ryan McKinven 2, Kayl Sieg 2.

Velva: Mason McPeak 24, Reggie Bruner 16, Ben Schepp 13, Luke Selzler 12, Cooper Kittelson 5, Mason Kraft 3.

Loser-Out

Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 48,

HWC 37

HWC 8 10 9 10 37

MLS 10 16 12 10 48

HWC: Swang 11, Keller 8, Ziegler 8, Thorson 4, Feist 2, Sieg 2, Williams 2.

MLS: Eli Undlin 17, Riley Morlock 16, Reid Morlock 6, Braden Savelkoul 4, Carson Nett 3, Cristyen Peppard 2.