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Battlers Force 30 Turnovers in Big Win Over Underwood

By Craig Olson, 02/12/21, 10:15PM CST

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Underwood was unable to handle Battle Lake's full court pressure on Friday night, as they fell to the Battlers, 77-45.  The first half saw the Rockets commit 19 turnovers as the Battlers built a 42-17 advantage.  The second half saw Underwood work their way back to getting the game within 20 before Battle Lake pulled away for a 32 point win. 

Battle Lake was led by Owen Buehler with 23 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals.  Brady VanErp had 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.  Noah Mansker was also in double digits with 12 points.  Jack Mekalson distributed 4 assists and had 3 steals.  Drew Johnson finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.

The Battlers brought the intensity right from the start by pressuring on the defensive end and getting to the glass on the offensive end. Sophomore forward Owen Buehler of Battle Lake used his length and good anticipation to rack up steal after steal in the first half. Those steals led to some easy baskets in transition for Battle Lake, and they built a solid lead going into the break ahead by 25.

"Senior forward Nick Carter-Fischer had some fun of his own in the second half with his aggressive defense, adding several takeaways to the Battler's total," commented Head Coach Tyler Owen. "The Battlers ran Carter-Fischer and Buehler at the Rockets' ball-handlers all night, and it paid dividends as we continued to score easy buckets in the second half. The same recipe of pressure defense and getting to the offensive boards worked for much of the second half, and the Battlers ended up running away with the game."

Underwood was led by Krosby Aasness with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 3 steals.  Gavin Pausch dished out 3 assists and had a pair of steals.

"We were unable to keep up with the pace that Battle Lake put out there tonight,” said Underwood Head Coach Evan Meece.  “We knew they were going to bring pressure and we did not make the adjustments that we needed to to take care of that pressure.  We'll go back to the drawing board to come up with a game plan to take care of the ball better moving forward."

Battle Lake shot 46% (29-63) from the field and made 16-of-29 free throws.  The Battlers won the rebounding battle, 43-36 and forced 30 Underwood turnovers.  The Rockets shot just 32% (15-46) on the night.