(Audubon, IA) – The Audubon Wheelers fell in a back-and-forth battle with the Missouri Valley Big Reds 50-45 on Monday night. The Big Reds led by as much as 11 points on the night, in which the Wheelers closed the gap, but that closure was just not enough at the end of the night.
The first half was an intense defensive battle as both teams were held to under 20 points entering halftime with the Big Reds on top 18-17 at the half. Where it really came close was in the second half, as both teams continued to have answers for any shot that was put up on the board. This is where we started to see Austin Christensen drive to the basket for Audubon while Brody Lager answered back on the opposite side of the floor for Missouri Valley. It came down to the last three minutes as Audubon was in foul trouble late with 10 fouls in the fourth quarter alone, and could never close the five-point gap.
Missouri Valley was led on the night by Brody Lager with 17 points as he could’ve added more but went just 50% from the free-throw line. Behind him on the night was Dane Janssen with 14 points as he split his total to seven in the first half and seven in the second. Layton Maasen had 11 points, all of which came in the second half of action. Mason Herman had three points while Jackson Tennis and Daylen Kocour finished off the night with two points each.
Audubon was led on the night by Austin Christensen as he knocked down his new career-high of 26 points on the night. Wherever the basketball fell on the court, Christensen was there to collapse it and lead on a new offensive drive. While proud of his performance, he still wanted the win at the end of the night for him and his teammates.
Taking a look at the other top scorers for Audubon, Edward Miller put down nine points on the night, including a crucial three-pointer towards the end of the game. Carson Wessel finished the night with six points with four second-half points. Aaron Olsen finished off scoring on the night with four points to round off the scoresheet. The Wheelers share the same mentality with Christensen, as they are looking for another way to get back in the groove.
Missouri Valley improves to 5-8 on the season and 3-8 in conference play for their first win over Audubon since January 15, 2015. Audubon falls to 5-9 on the season and 4-7 in conference action. The Wheelers will return to action on Tuesday when they take on Riverside, with an opening tipoff at 7:30 p.m.
(Click below to listen to this article)
