Vikings lock down Superlarks
Published 9:18 pm Tuesday, January 4, 2022
Grand Meadow’s Jace Kraft drives on Hayfield’s Kobe Foster during the first half Tuesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Grand Meadow’s Roman Warmka works underneath against Hayfield Tuesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Easton Fritcher spins inside during the first half against Grand Meadow Tuesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Kobe Foster passes inside during the first half against Grand Meadow Tuesday night in Grand Meadow. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Ethan Pack looks around Grand Meadow’s Roman Warmka during the first half Tuesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hayfield’s Isaac Matti drives around Grand Meadow’s Taylor Glynn during the first half Tuesday night in Hayfield. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
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HAYFIELD – The Vikings clamped down on one of Grand Meadow’s elite scorers as they defended their way to a 70-42 win Tuesday night.
Hayfield held GM senior Taylor Glynn to just four points and Easton Fritcher did the heavy lifting for the Vikings as he finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Hayfield’s defense was tenacious on Glynn as the Vikings built up a double digit lead early in the game.
Roman Warmka had a big night in the paint for the Superlarks (4-5 overall) as he finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals, but it wasn’t enough to make it close.
“Usually Isaac (Matti) or I will take on their best guard and we’ll harass them, close gaps and let someone else score,” Fritcher said. “That guy was Roman tonight, but we shut down their main guy and that was the plan.”
Hayfield has so far held all of its opponents to 55 points or less this season. The defending state champs have played hard on that end of that floor, and they’ll likely increase the pressure as the season rolls on.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” said Hayfield senior Kobe Foster, who had 12 points. “We want to hold their best player accountable and make other people make shots.”
Hayfield’s ball movement was also key in the victory as the team put together a string of passes throughout the night, while only committing eight turnovers.
“It’s kind of what we preach in practice,” Fritcher said. “We always want to move the ball. I struggle with it sometimes and I sit at the top of the key or the wing a little too often. We’ve got to pass and cut a little better and whoever is on that night is going to score a lot.”
Hayfield (9-1 overall) used a 12-0 run to seize an early 17-5 lead and Foster swished a three-pointer and converted a lay-up during the burst. When the Vikings weren’t knocking down threes, they were scoring second chance points behind the hustle of Fritcher and Zander Jacobson, who had 13 points and nine rebounds.
GM was only able to get as close as 17 in the second half.
Isaac Matti scored nine points to go along with seven rebounds and eight assists. Matti is a 1,000-point scorer as a junior, but he had no problem sharing the scoring with his teammates on Tuesday.
That’s just the Viking way.
“We all think that we can make the shot, but the extra pass is always there,” Foster said. “We trust in our teammates to shoot. It’s so fun to move the ball around and watch shots fall down.”
Grand Meadow 19 23 – 42
Hayfield 39 31 – 70
Hayfield scoring: Easton Fritcher, 20; Ethan Pack, 16; Zander Jacobson, 13; Kobe Foster, 10; Isaac Matti, 9; Aiden Manggaard, 2; rebounds: 34 (Fritcher, 10); free throws: 66 percent (3-for-5); turnovers: 8
GM scoring: Roman Warmka, 22; Jace Kraft, 11; Taylor Glynn, 4; Jacob Kerrins, 3; free throws: 86 percent (6-for-7); rebounds: 33 (Warmka, 13); turnovers: 16
