Wolves split on road,
finally return home
Posted 1/15/03

Milaca returns to its home court for the first time since Dec. 12 when it hosts Pine City in a Rum River Conference game Friday night at 7:30.

The Wolves, who split a pair of Rum River Conference road games last week, are 6-3 overall and 3-2 in RRC play. Milaca lost at St. Michael-Albertville 61-52 Tuesday, Jan. 7, but rebounded by winning at Mora 71-59 Friday night.

The Wolvesí stay at home will be short-lived as they travel to Princeton Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:30 for another RRC game.

"The loss at St. Michael was disappointing because it was a game we couldíve won," said Milaca Coach Jeff Meyer. "But, we came back with a strong game at Mora. Again, our goal is to continue to play hard."

Milaca 71, Mora 59

Milaca led 21-18 after the first quarter and 35-33 at halftime before outscoring Mora 19-11 to take a 54-44 lead into the final quarter.

Senior guard Tim Veurink and junior forward Daren Koppendrayer led Milaca with 14 points each while senior center Eric Bergstrom had 13 points and sophomore guard Jon Moorlag scored 10. Sophomore guard Adam Ruis added nine points.

Bergstrom, who picked up three fouls in the first half and a fourth in the third quarter, sat out nearly 12 minutes of play.

"We adjusted to playing without Eric pretty well," said Meyer. "Other players picked us up inside."

Koppendrayer pulled down 10 rebounds while senior forward Jon Matthews had nine.

Milaca shot 41.8 percent (23-55) from the field and made 17 of 25 attempts from the foul line.

Mora slipped to a 3-7 overall record and 0-5 RRC mark.

St. Michael-Albertville 61,

Milaca 52

The Wolves trailed 28-20 at halftime but cut the margin to 36-33 heading into the fourth quarter. The Knights outscored Milaca 25-19 over the final eight minutes.

Veurink and Bergstrom led Milaca with 14 points each while Moorlag scored nine points and Matthews added eight.

Bergstrom also had 10 rebounds while Matthews had eight to give Milaca a 29-25 edge.

Milaca 71, Mora 59
Milaca (71) FG FT F PTS
Veurink, g 5 1-1 3 14
Koppendrayer, g 4 5-9 3 14
Wallin, g 0 0-0 0 0
Bemis, g 0 0-0 1 0
Nelson, f 0 0-0 0 0
Moorlag, f 3 2-3 1 10
Pearson, g 2 0-0 3 4
Matthews, f 3 1-2 0 7
Ruis, g 2 3-4 2 9
Naumann, c 0 0-0 0 0
Bergstrom, c 4 5-6 4 13
Totals: 23 17-25 17 71

Mora (59) FG FT F PTS
Hanson, g 1 0-0 2 2
Gunderson, g 5 3-4 0 14
Bankers, g 0 0-0 1 0
McGovern, g 4 1-2 4 12
Oslin, g 7 3-3 3 19
Bertilson, f 1 2-4 5 4
Dalbey, f 2 2-3 2 6
Meyer, f 1 0-0 0 2
Totals: 21 11-16 17 59

Points Per Quarter
Milaca 21 14 19 17-71
Mora 18 15 11 15-59
Three-point field goals: Milaca 8 (Veurink 3, Moorlag 2, Ruis 2, Koppendrayer 1); Mora 6 (McGovern 3, Oslin 2, Gunderson 1).
Fouled Out: Bertilson.
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St. Michael-Albertville 61,
Milaca 52
Milaca (52) FG FT F PTS
Veurink, g 5 3-6 5 14
Koppendrayer, g 0 0-0 1 0
Bemis, g 0 0-0 1 0
Moorlag, f 3 2-2 1 9
Pearson, g 0 0-0 1 0
Matthews, f 3 2-4 3 8
Ruis, g 1 0-0 3 2
Bergstrom, c 6 2-4 1 14
Baas, g 2 0-1 5 5
Totals: 20 9-17 21 52

SM-A (61) FG FT F PTS
R. Hegland, g 1 0-0 1 2
K. Hegland, g 2 8-10 1 12
B Kessler, g 4 0-0 2 10
Rowe, g 1 3-4 3 6
Valerius, f 1 0-0 3 2
Sheeler, f 7 5-6 4 20
Becker, f 2 0-0 3 4
Stangler, c 1 0-0 0 2
K. Kessler, c 1 1-4 0 3
Totals: 20 17-24 17 61

Points Per Quarter
Milaca 14 6 13 19-52
SM-A 16 12 8 25-61
Three-point field goals: Milaca- 3 (Veurink, Baas, Moorlag); SM-A- 4 (B. Kessler 2, Rowe 1, Sheeler 1).
Fouled Out: Veurink, Baas.
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