On Tuesday, the boys prepared to face the Mellen Granitediggers. Before this game, the guys won one conference game against Drummond, so they were sitting at 1-7 while Mellen was sitting at 6-3. Earlier in the season, the guys traveled down to Mellen and took a tough loss. The final score was 41-57, but that was in the past and the boys have improved and were ready to split. The boys all knew they were capable of beating them, and that was their goal.

The game started out by Douglas Hipsher winning the tip against Blake Evenson. During the first couple of minutes, the guys’ shots did not seem to fall at first, and the diggers took the lead 0-7. At this time, Coach Gustafson decided to call a time out to get his team to regroup and focus. After their talk, they did just that. The boys came out and pushed the ball. This created a couple of easy layups and jumpers for the Cardinals. They dug themselves out of the point deficit and made it tied by halftime. After their comeback and halftime talk, the guys created a lead and kept it most of the second half. Towards the end of the half, the team sealed the deal with some steals and a couple free throws shot by Jake Winge and Bjorn Branham with the final score being 54-49. The intensity of the game that was felt on the court and in the gym combined with the pre-existing rivalry with Mellen, fueled the players, especially lead scorer for the night, Bjorn Branham. “The intensity of the game was fueled by our great fans. The energy from the fans is what fueled our defense which we turned into fastbreak points helping seal the win.”

Bjorn Branham finished the night with 18 points followed by Sawyer Schierman with 14 and Doug Hipsher with 7.