Derek Lindow and Luke DeWulf took care of the scoring load as the Nevis boys basketball team won both games at the Fornshell Holiday Classic at Pillager on Dec. 19-20.
Lindow’s 25 points and DeWulf’s 18 points led a balanced offensive attack as Nevis defeated Pine River-Backus 75-61 in the opener on Dec. 19 while DeWulf (22) and Lindow (21) combined for 43 points as the Tigers rallied for a 62-57 victory over Pillager on Dec. 20.
Ty Warrington (16) and Eddie Kramer (10) also scored in double figures against Pine River-Backus. Jack McNamee had five rebounds while DeWulf and Warrington had four rebounds apiece. Kramer, Warrington and Lindow dished out three assists each while DeWulf and Lindow had four steals each. Warrington had three steals for the Tigers, who led 32-28 at the half.
The win gave Nevis a 3-0 record against Section 5A opponents and a 2-0 record in Northland Conference play. Brady Raph (18), Rian Struss (17) and Champ Howard (11) led the way for PR-B, which fell to 3-2 against section opponents, 1-3 in the conference and 5-3 overall.
“This was an important game for us in the section and conference standings and we were able to get the win against a good Pine River team,” said Nevis head coach Scott Kramer. “Things played out pretty evenly in the first half, but we came out in the second half and took control with a big run that opened the lead to 20 points. Pine River got it back to single digits with a run of their own, but we hit some shots late and made some free throws to ice it.”
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The Tigers trailed Pillager 36-29 at the half and 57-48 late before ending the game with a 14-0 run to rally for the win. DeWulf hit a pair of 3-pointers and Warrington contributed a basket during that game-winning run. McNamee pulled down eight rebounds while DeWulf and Lindow had five rebounds each. Lindow dished out six assists and had three steals while Joe Houchin had two assists and Kramer joined Cain Mitchell with two steals.
DeWulf, Lindow and Warrington were named to the all-tournament team as Nevis improved to 6-0 on the season. Spencer Schaefer’s 17 points led a balanced attack for the Huskies, who fell to 2-3 on the season.
“This was an amazing win for us. Pillager has a good veteran team that starts five seniors and really had a size advantage against us, but we kept battling all night,” said Kramer. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well for the most part, but we hit big shots down the stretch when we needed them. This was just a great team win. Lindow and DeWulf led the way, but every other guy made important plays and all our bench guys made a contribution as well.”
