Avery Smith jets to the cup for Breckenridge | Photo by Carol Colby
The Breckenridge Cowboys made their debut at No. 8 in the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Class 1A poll last week, but a pair of tough losses in section play dropped them to 12-3 overall following a 1-2 stretch on their home court.
Coming off a 62-52 loss to No. 5 Pelican Rapids on Tuesday, Breckenridge welcomed another Section 6A contender to town Saturday in Hillcrest Lutheran Academy.
The Comets outplayed their 8-4 record and controlled the game from start to finish in a 67-58 victory. At one point, Hillcrest built a 25-point lead before Breckenridge slowly closed the gap over the final 12 minutes.
Lincoln Nash led the Comets with 19 points, making all five of his shot attempts including four 3-pointers. Sean Berge added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Ethan Swedberg tallied 11 points and 11 boards.
Cooper Roberts paced the Cowboys with 16 points, Aidan Sanchez scored 14, Levi Christensen scored nine and Charlie Kratcha added seven.
The Breckenridge loss further crowds the race for the No. 2 seed in Section 6A behind undefeated, top-ranked Henning (15-0). The Cowboys remain in the two spot, but Pelican Rapids holds the tiebreaker and Benson (13-0), Underwood (10-2), New York Mills (9-2) and Hillcrest (9-4) are all playing quality basketball.
Breckenridge (12-3) hosts Battle Lake (2-10) on Tuesday night.