Despite threat from Kee, Bulldog boys remain unbeaten in conference
By Audrey Posten, Times-Register
Wins over Kee and Postville last week kept the MFL MarMac boys basketball team unbeaten in the Upper Iowa Conference, but a Border Battle loss to Lanesboro, Minn., marked the Bulldogs’ second straight outside league play.
The team’s perfect conference record was nearly dashed in the Jan. 25 game at Kee, where MFL MarMac eked out a 51-49 score. The Hawks built an early 12-11 edge, but the Bulldogs snatched back a 32-29 lead by halftime and increased it to 42-38 by the end of the third period. Kee hung around, though, out-scoring the Bulldogs 11-9 in the final minutes to take the game down to the wire.
Although the Hawks had the field goal percentage advantage, out-shooting the Bulldogs 35.5 to 31.5 percent, MFL MarMac benefitted from 15 more trips to the free throw line—and making 13 of 18 attempts.
Still without leading scorer Zach Driscoll, the Bulldogs found a spark from Carver Blietz-Bentien, who returned to the starting lineup with 18 points. He completed a double-double with a season high 17 rebounds. Fellow sophomore Wyatt Powell added 12 points—half of which were from behind the arc—and picked up four assists, three rebounds, three steals and a block. Freshman Parker Kuehl’s night included 11 points, seven rebounds and two steals.
The Jan. 28 game against the one-win Pirates was a bit more easy going for the Bulldogs, who dominated 68-25 behind 51 percent field goal shooting. The team also dropped nine three-pointers in the offensive outburst.
Defensively, MFL MarMac held Postville to eight or fewer points in each quarter, in addition to tallying 17 steals and three blocks.
Parker Kuehl led the team’s scoring effort, shooting over 69 percent from the field and draining three of six three-point attempts, for 21 points. He added four rebounds, three steals and two assists as well. Senior Kaden Stocker was equally lethal from long range, netting 14 points along with two steals, two assists and a rebound. Powell drained two shots from behind the arc, for six of his 12 points, and had five assists, four steals and three rebounds. Blietz-Bentien was just shy of another double-double, with nine points and nine rebounds, and picked up five steals and four assists. Sophomore Mason Kishman delivered six points, three rebounds and a block off the bench.
The Bulldogs couldn’t keep their winning momentum going into the Jan. 29 game against Lanesboro, however, losing 53-45. The teams were knotted 11-11 early, but Lanesboro was up 25-19 at halftime and pulled away 38-28 by the end of the third quarter. Despite out-scoring Lanesboro 17-15 down the stretch, the Bulldogs couldn’t mount a larger comeback.
The defeat dropped MFL MarMac to 14-3 overall, with all three of the team’s losses this season coming against non-conference opponents. The Bulldogs are 12-0 in the UIC, with three more games on the docket this week, starting with a home match-up against Central (1-13) on Feb. 1. They’ll head to a make-up game at West Central (2-13) on Feb. 3, before hosting Clayton Ridge (13-4) for the annual Cancer Awareness Night on Feb. 4.
