WATERTOWN – There was nothing going right for the Watertown-Mayer boys basketball team to start the second half against the Dassel-Cokato Chargers Tuesday night. The shots weren’t falling. The Chargers came out red-hot, and they found themselves in a big hole early in the second half. That didn’t stop the Royals from a furious comeback, though. Down 45-28 with just over nine minutes to go, the Royals did more than make things interesting.
An 18-0 run by the hometown Royals gave them a 46-45 lead, but it was the Chargers who made just enough plays down the stretch to escape with a 51-47 victory over the Royals in a Wright County Conference West matchup.
“I give them a lot of credit,” Watertown-Mayer coach Kent Janikula said. “We could have folded. We’ve had a tough time putting the ball in the hoop lately. When you get down by 17, and you’re a team that’s struggling to score, they battled all the way back.”
Brevin Williams fights through contact and makes the basket to help spark the Royals’ 18-0 run to get back into the game.
After the big run put the Royals back on top for the first time since 8-7 in the first half, the Chargers, a team that has been much improved from a season ago, showed their confidence down the stretch. A pair of free throws from Alex Terning put the Chargers back up one with just over two minutes to go, but once again, the Royals fought back.
With a pair of chances to take the lead or tie the game, the Royals came up short on two possessions. Forced to foul with time running out, the Royals caught a break. Trailing 49-46, the Chargers missed a wide open layup, giving the Royals another shot to tie the game. Following a timeout, Watertown-Mayer’s Wilson Kuhn was fouled on a 3-pointer, and was sent to the line with a chance to win the game.
Kuhn went 1-for-3 from the line, cutting the deficit to two points. While it looked like the Chargers would seal the game with a pair of free throws with 4.5 seconds left, the Royals caught another break. The Chargers missed both free throws, giving the Royals one last chance to tie the game down two.
Following a timeout, the Royals’ inexperience showed up as they turned the ball over on the inbound pass, and the Chargers held on as Terning calmly knocked down two free throws to seal the win for the Chargers and hand the Royals their fifth-straight loss.
“We’re kind of in a tough stretch right here,” Janikula said. “We’re going to have to work extra hard to get out of this losing streak. It’s frustrating right now because it’s not an issue of us and certain things we’re doing bad. We’re working hard. We’re just struggling to score here a little bit. The hard part is just breaking through.”
Look for the rest of the story, as well as more HJ sports coverage, in the Friday, Jan. 26 edition of the Herald Journal. Click here for subscription information.