Back-to-Back Great Shooting Nights Give the Wolfpack 2 More Conference Wins

Bemidji, MN – A huge two win weekend has helped give the Wolfpack an amazing start to the New Year. This weekend, the Oak Hills Men's Basketball team took on the Leech Lake Tribal College Lakers in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, with the Wolfpack coming out on top in both games.

Friday night started with Oak Hills jumping out to a quick 13-2 lead after just 3 minutes of play. The lead stayed with the Wolfpack as good defense and communication forced the Lakers to have 17 turnovers during the first half verses just 8 for Oak Hills.

A made layup from freshman, Caleb Smoot (McDonough, GA) with just under 10 minutes left in the half gave Oak Hills a 19 point lead and put the score at 33-14. Over the next 5 minutes, the Lakers would go on a 3-12 run and get the difference down to 10 points putting the score at 36-26.

The Wolfpack would answer during the final 5 minutes of the half with a run of their own. This run would include baskets from four different Oak Hills' players, and would put the halftime score at 50-39.

Freshman, Noah Larson (Park Rapids, MN) would lead the Wolfpack scorers in the first half with 16 points and 9 rebounds. Smoot would add 12 points. Freshman Ben Chavez Rodriguez (Woodbury, MN) would add 9 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, and a block to the box score.

The second half momentum would stay with the Wolfpack as great ball movement would give them one of their best nights of shooting this season. Oak Hills would end the night with their team's season high assist numbers with 29 total assists for the game.

The final score for the game would end up being 104-84. Smoot would lead the Wolfpack in points, and would finish the game with his career high 34 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Larson would end the game with another double-double for the season with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 5 steals.

Chavez Rodriguez would almost notch his first double-double. He would end the game with 13 points, 9 assists, and 6 rebounds. Senior, Alexander Gonzalez (Miami, FL) would also be just shy of a double-double, and would add 9 points, career-high 10 assists and 5 rebounds on the night.

Saturday would see the Wolfpack travel to Leech Lake Tribal College as the Lakers were set to host this game. The start of the game looked to be some of the same as the night before with Oak Hills jumping out to a 15-6 lead after the first 6 minutes of play. But, some turnovers and fast break layups from the Lakers would see that lead dwindle until a 3-pointer with 10:47 left in the half would see the game's first tie score at 18-18.

The rest of the half would be a back and forth fight that saw 12 lead changes and 3 ties. The halftime score would end up being 41-43 with the Wolfpack down by 2.

Larson would top the Oak Hills scorers with 10 first half points along with 4 rebounds. Chavez Rodriguez would add 8 points and 5 rebounds in the half. Senior, Deacon Bock (Blaine, MN) would also add 8 points during the 1^st half.

The second half would continue the game's back-and-forth battle with teams never gaining too much ground on the other. A 3-pointer from the Lakers with just under 6 minutes to go in the game would give Leech Lake their largest lead of the night and put the score at 67-80.

The Wolfpack would push back with the help from 4 huge 3-pointers from Larson that would add to an 16-3 run for Oak Hills and would give them a tie score at 83-83 with just over 2 minutes to go in the game.

Key rebounds and good ball movement would help the Wolfpack score 8 more points to help cover the final push from the Lakers, and would see the final buzzer sound with the score ending at 91-87.

Larson would get his career-high in points with 31 and would also add 8 rebounds for the day. Bock would finish the game with 14 points. Smoot would add 13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Chavez Rodriguez would finish with 10 points and 6 rebounds.

For the second straight game, Gonzalez would reach his career high in assists, and would end this game with 8 points and 11 assists.

The Wolfpack will be back in action on their home court on Tuesday, January 21^st to take on the Free Lutheran Bible College Conquerors for their second of 3 total meetings this season.