LESTER PRAIRIE – A three-game losing streak in the middle of the season can be rough for a team. For the Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity boys’ basketball team, they didn’t let that bother them.
The Bulldogs, who came into the matchup with Heritage Christian Academy with three-straight losses, put that rough stretch behind them immediately as they came out firing in a 74-40 win over winless Heritage Christian Academy on their home floor Tuesday night.
“It’s big to get back on track,” LP/HT coach Andrew Dahl said. “I think overall, our spirits were fairly good, even though we lost a couple of games we could have won. We came out and hit some shots early that kind of gave us some confidence and feeling good. We’ve had a little rough stretch where we had a couple of games we’ve been in it and just haven’t been able to finish. Tonight was good to get back on a roll and feel good about ourselves.”
LP/HT opened the game on a 15-0 run to set the tone early. Senior Alex Heimerl, who was able to sneak a nap in between school and the game, was a big reason for the quick start. He knocked down four mid-range jumpers early on, and the Bulldogs were off and running.
“He came out and hit some mid-range and corner shots,” Dahl said. “He’s been working on that a lot. He said he took a nap before the game, so maybe we’ll have to have him take a consistent nap now before every game. He was big for us. He’s posting up and hitting some outside shots. It’s a good combo to have somebody inside that we can feel confident in.”
It was Heimerl’s best game of the season so far. Being a senior, Dahl is hoping to see Heimerl continue to play well and be a leader for the Bulldogs this season.
“Alex can be a leader for us,” Dahl said. “When he gets going, the other guys kind of build off of him. It kind gets us going at times too when he’s engaged and going hard. It just helps us overall.”
For the complete story and more HJ sports coverage, check out the Friday, Jan. 10 edition of the Herald Journal. Click here for subscription information.