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(NewsDakota.com)–The Hi-Liners were within an eyelash of breaking a losing streak Friday night in Wahpeton, but old nemeses, rebounding and free throw shooting, turned them away in another classic battle with the Huskies.
Valley City gave up three offensive rebounds in the final minute of overtime, and shot 5-12 from the line in the second half, losing their sixth straight game 56-52 to the Huskies.
Joey Halgrimson led the way with 15 points in a terrific individual offensive night. But foul trouble limited Valley City’s production in the second half. Chase Carpenter, averaging over 17 points a game, hit just two field goals on the night and one point after halftime, scoring 11.
The Hi-Liners came out smoking, with early three-point shots from Brandyn Heck and Mason Denholm, and a big push from Halgrimson, who found room to repeatedly penetrate the right base line. His series of jumpers gave him eight points early and pushed a Hi-Liner lead to 24-7 through the first 10 minutes.
Halgrimson had to be lifted with a second early foul, and Valley City struggled for offense. The Huskies took advantage with an 18-5 run that lasted over six minutes, cutting the lead to 29-25 with 1:30 left in the half. A pair of late free throws by Carpenter bumped the lead to six at halftime.
The Huskies would continue to push in the second half, led by Jack Christiansen. His basket with 7:21 left cut the lead to 43-41. His three-point play trimmed the edge to 47-46 with 5:18 to go. Denholm would respond with a big three that broke a brief tie, making it 52-49 Hi-Liners with 2:10 left.
Christiansen would then hit the shot that changed the game, a basket down low that tied the game at 52-52. The Hi-Liners would not get a shot off and Wahpeton had one last chance. Carson Miller left a three short from the right corner as time expired, and the game was extended to overtime.
In the overtime, Valley City simply had no offense. Neither team scored a field goal, but two free throws by Christiansen gave him a game-high 16 points, and broke the tie to 54-52 Huskies. The Hi-Liners worked for a shot to tie, but came up short, and Jeremy Bontjes, who had made 39 of 41 free throw attempts this season, stepped to the line and put the game out of reach with 9.2 second to go.
Valley City drops to 2-6 overall, 0-5 in Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC) play. They face the Bismarck St. Mary’s Saints Saturday afternoon in Bismarck.