Boys Basketball: Rough night for Red Wing at New Prague

It was a tough trip to New Prague for the Red Wing boys basketball team Thursday night.

The Wingers fell behind early en route to a 61-54 loss to the Trojans and after the game, in below-zero weather, the team’s bus wouldn’t start.

“Luckily the parents had stuck around and knew early enough,” Red Wing head coach Doug Toivonen said.

On the court, the Wingers (8-8, 1-5 Missota) trailed 31-22 at halftime and struggled to get shots against ninth-ranked (3A) New Prague’s zone.

“They played a tough zone,” Toivonen said. “We had some chances to finish early in the game. We started the second half slow and kind of dug ourselves a hole. … It was very similar to some of our other games where we get down in the second half and make a run and aren’t able to turn a corner.”

The loss was Red Wing’s eighth by less than 12 points.

“We’re kind of past finding the positive out of it,” Toivonen said. “It’s time to figure out how to win. I just think we give away too many possessions. Just lack of concentration and at critical times we’re not able to make a play. We dig ourselves a hole and have to climb out of it.”

Jon Sevlie led the Wingers with 12 points, Ty Buck had 10 points and Jack Leurquin provided 10 points and eight rebounds. Isaac Toivonen contributed six points, six rebounds and five assists. Red Wing shot better than 50 percent inside the 3-point line but made just 4 of 14 3-pointers and 8 of 14 free-throw attempts.

New Prague was led by Luke Rynda, who had 18 points. Kyle Stepka scored 17 points and Michael Soderlund added 10 points in the win. The Trojans shot 45 percent from the field, including eight 3-pointers.

“They hurt us inside a little bit,” Doug Toivonen said. “We had to do some doubling. They hit some big 3’s and kind of kept us far enough away where they could stay comfortable. Scoring 22 points in the first half was really what put us behind the 8-ball.”

The Wingers host Chaska Friday.

Tags: boys basketball, red wing, sports, prep