Senior High pulls away to beat Win-E-Mac

Julian Benson, all 5-foot-11 of him, had a tall order Monday. He had to defend 6-foot-8 Win-E-Mac center Brekken Lindberg.

"That's a tall guy,'' Benson said. "I've never guarded anybody that big. It definitely was a new experience. I had to have his back side and get some help from my teammates.''

Benson and his East Grand Forks Senior High teammates offset the Patriots' height with their athleticism. The Green Wave pulled away, closing on a 17-7 run, to claim a 67-57 boys basketball win at Senior High.

Benson and 6-foot teammate Sam Votava had the primary defensive assignment of Brekken, whose 15 points led the 7-4 Patriots. Brekken is the tallest player the Wave have played this season. "They did a very good job defending him,'' Senior High coach Josh Perkerwicz said.

A 3-point play by Lindberg on an offensive rebound putback had the Patriots tied at 50-50 with 6:04 remaining. But Senior High's athleticism helped the Wave regain the lead with two baskets in a 22-second span.

Tanner Campos broke the tie when the 5-9 freshman blocked a shot, grabbed the defensive rebound and drove the length of the court for a layup. Votava made it 54-50 with 4:04 left when he converted a steal into a fast-break layup-one of eight layups the Wave converted off steals.

"We knew that would be a problem with their quickness, giving up turnovers and quick baskets,'' Win-E-Mac coach Vern Johnson said.

"They have so many weapons. When we got back on defense and covered them inside, they hit the threes. We knew athletically they were probably better than us.''

Still, Win-E-Mac led 31-29 at halftime and by as many as six (42-36) on a Lindberg basket with 12:17 remaining to cap an 11-2 run. "We attacked the basket well and the kids took good shots,'' Johnson said.

Back-to-back treys by Votava and Benson finished a 10-0 run as Senior High regained the lead at 48-43.

"We want to play fullcourt all the time and run,'' Perkerwicz said. "That's always our game. But they made us execute our halfcourt offense and we did a good job of it.''

Votava finished with 17 points and Benson 15 to pace the 9-2 Wave.

Bryer Strom added 14 points and Gavin Walker 11 for the Patriots.

1/2: Green Wave's Tanner Campos drives past Win-E-Mac's Bryer Strom for a basket in the second half. Julian Benson (30) and Nathan Willett look on. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald

2/2: East Grand Forks' Colton Dauksavage's shot is blocked by Win-E-Mac's Kobe Hamre as Gavin Walker looks for a rebound in the second half Monday at Senior High. photo by Eric Hylden/Grand Forks Herald