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Night and day

Velva recovers from slow start for 47-28 win

Justin Martinez/MDN Velva’s Adam Schepp (22) goes up for a close-range shot during the Aggies’ 47-28 win over Surrey Friday in the semifinals of the Velva Invitational Tournament.

VELVA — With their backs against the wall, the Aggies’ killer instinct kicked in.

The Velva boys basketball team had been out-hustled and outscored after two quarters of play against the Surrey Mustangs in Friday’s semifinals match of the Velva Invitational Tournament.

The Mustangs broke the Aggies’ full-court press, finished on easy looks and got to the free throw line repeatedly to take a 19-18 lead at halftime.

But a different Velva group came out in the second half, dominating Surrey from baseline to baseline to claim a 47-28 win and advance to the championship game.

“Surrey does such a good job of working hard and creating chaos for other teams,” Velva head coach Isaac Sondrol said. “We got so many great looks in the first half but just couldn’t make any, so we slowed it down in the second half, played smarter basketball and got the win.”

The Aggies relied on their star veteran, Hayden Lee, in the opening moments of the third quarter. After being held to just three points in the entire first half, the senior decided to take over the game.

Lee exploded for Velva’s first seven points of the third quarter. The highlight play came on his second bucket when the 6-foot-4 forward snagged an offense rebound out of the air and sank the putback layup plus the foul, which he converted.

Assisting Lee in the scoring burst was senior guard Colton Frankl, who drilled a three-point bomb and finished up close with a contested layup. The duo ignited a 15-3 Velva run, giving the Aggies a 33-22 lead with 2:30 left in the third.

“We knew we just had to control ourselves better in the second half,” Frankl said. “We settled down, put work in and executed on offense.”

On the defensive end, the Aggies made life difficult for the Mustangs. Velva forced four Surrey turnovers and held the team to just seven points to help give the Aggies a 35-26 lead entering the fourth quarter.

Getting the ball to the rim only got more challenging in the fourth quarter, as the Mustangs managed to get just one layup from junior forward Cody Fuchs to fall. Meanwhile, the Aggies totaled 12 points en route to the 47-28 victory.

Lee finished with a game-high 14 points, while Frankl added eight points. Fuchs recored a team-high 12 points for the Mustangs in the loss.

For the Aggies, it’s on to the championship game, where they’ll take on Underwood. After losing in the championship game of last year’s Velva Invitational Tournament, the host Aggies are eager for a shot at redemption.

“Unfortunately, we came up short last year in this same situation,” Frankl said. “But we’re going to try and put on a show (against Underwood) and keep this trophy here where it belongs.”

Velva and Underwood are set to tipoff today at 6 p.m. for the title.

Justin Martinez covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JTheSportsDude.

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