Reggie Bruner (10) of the Velva Aggies came up big for his team, helping lead them to a 74-67 win over the St. John Woodchucks in the Dale Brown Classic on Tuesday afternoon.

In a day filled with talented teams from around the region gathering at the MSU Dome for the Dale Brown Classic, the Velva Aggies (1-1 overall, 0-1 Region 6) had a tough matchup against a St. John Woodchucks team (2-0 overall, 0-0 Region 4) that received votes in the most recent Class B boys’ basketball rankings.

The Woodchucks picked up wins over Rugby and TGU to begin the year, while the Aggies dropped their first game of the season to Des Lacs-Burlington but bounced back with a win over Kenmare/Bowbells.

In a truly exhilarating contest that needed two overtime periods to settle it, the Aggies came out victorious by earning a 74-67 win over the Woodchucks. Christmas might be over, but the Aggies and Woodchucks gifted a treat to all fans in attendance at the MSU Dome.

Both teams were idle for over a week, and it took them a little time to get going. Kyle Sandy of the Aggies broke the scoreless tie with 6:20 left in the opening quarter on a tough post move to put his team on the board.

The Woodchucks were active on the offensive glass early but did not have anything to show for it yet. That was until an 8-0 run gave them their first lead of the afternoon, started on a layup by Isaac Charbonneau with 4:55 left in the opening frame.

Settled into a back-and-forth affair were both teams and the Aggies struck next. Payton Bodine and Preston Kraft scored on consecutive possessions, then Kraft showcased his two-way ability by picking off a pass and sinking the layup to give the Aggies the advantage again at 9-8.

The Woodchucks, however, would close out the first quarter strong, highlighted by a swift ball fake for a score courtesy of Cashmyn Belgarde to make it a 12-10 Woodchucks’ lead after one.

Carrying over the strong finish into quarter two were the Woodchucks, who got back-to-back 3-pointers from Belgarde and Grayson Greybear to jump out to a double-digit lead at 21-11 with 5:22 left before the break.

With it seeming like the Woodchucks were ready to pull away, the Aggies continued to fight by constructing an answer. Bodine got the run started to get the Aggies back in it, scoring twice down low. Ben Schepp would add two baskets of his own, trimming the Woodchucks’ lead to 28-27 heading into halftime.

Making his presence felt through post play and giving his team an abundance of second chance opportunities through offensive rebounds, Sandy broke open the scoring with under a minute played in the second half, giving the Aggies a 29-28 lead.

All the sudden, the Aggies started to connect on 3-pointers more consistently, as long-range buckets by Reggie Bruner and Bodine helped tie the game at 36-36 with 2:19 left in the third frame. The Aggies would then go on a 6-2 run to take a 42-38 lead heading into the final quarter of the contest.

The scoring and overall pace of the game began to pick up in the early goings of the fourth quarter, as Schepp and Bruner added to their basket total to help the Aggies maintain their lead at 48-45 moving to the midway point of the frame.

Greybear continued to be a factor from deep down the stretch, as a 3-pointer by him knotted the game at 48-48 to give the Woodchucks late life. Ethan Decoteau would drive and score to give the Woodchucks their first lead in a while at 50-48 with 2:35 to play.

With both teams trading baskets in the final two minutes, the ball movement of the Aggies would aid them in claiming a 53-52 lead with 54 seconds left. Showing off his clutch gene, Decoteau of the Woodchucks would tie the game at 53 all from the free-throw line with 16 seconds left.

An Aggies turnover gave the Woodchucks the ball back with 3 seconds left and a chance to win it, but regular time was not enough for either team to earn a victory as they headed for overtime to settle the battle.

Brayton Baker of the Woodchucks gave his team the advantage early when he snagged an offensive rebound and scored on a putback. Bruner would then drain a 3-pointer on the next two possessions, quickly erupting to give the Aggies the lead again at 59-55.

A clutch 3-pointer by Belgarde tied the game at 61-61 with it seeming like one overtime period wasn’t enough to decide the fate of this contest. This would prove to be true as these teams would go to double overtime to try to decide who would be the winner of this thrilling game.

Bruner continued his scorching hot finish to the game by taking the opening tip of double overtime all the way to the basket for a layup. Baker would score a transition layup shortly after, with both teams showing they weren’t done fighting yet.

A 3-pointer by Kraft, followed by a Schepp layup gave the Aggies a ton of momentum to begin the double overtime period, as they raced out to a 68-63 lead. A turnover by the Woodchucks led to a basket by Bodine, extending the Aggies’ lead to 70-63 with 1:23 left. The Aggies would control the game the rest of the way, as they secured a 72-67 win.

Leading the way for the Aggies with 20 points was Reggie Bruner. Ben Schepp (14), Kyle Sandy (13), Preston Kraft (13), Payton Bodine (9), and Hank Bodine (5) rounded things out in the win.

Grayson Greybear (18), Brayton Baker (15), Ethan Decoteau (14), Cashmyn Belgarde (10), Caden Belgarde (4), Tuff Longie (4), and Isaac Charbonneau (2) totaled the scoring for the Woodchucks.

This afternoon, the Aggies will be back in action when they take on Trenton at 12:30 p.m. as part of the Hoopster Classic at the MSU Dome.