WARREN-A-O BOYS BASKETBALL CRUISE TO A WIN OVER NORTHERN FREEZE

The Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Pony Boys Basketball team used a strong second half and cruised to a 70-43 victory in the Section 8A quarterfinals at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Thief River Falls.

FIRST HALF –
The game was back-and-forth at the start, with Warren-Alvarado-Oslo leading 8-6 three minutes into the game.  The Ponies kicked up the defensive pressure over the next six minutes and went on a 10-1 run.  The run started with a Jackson Woinarowicz basket, followed by a Dustin Moehrle basket.  After a Freeze free throw, the Ponies’ Nathan Sedlacek and Kaden Pierce made a free throw apiece before Pierce made a baseline jump shot for an 18-7 lead with 7:48 left in the half.  The teams would play even the rest of the half with Warren-Alvarado-Oslo outscoring the Northern Freeze 13-12 to take a 31-19 lead into halftime.

SECOND HALF –
Northern Freeze out scored the Ponies 4-2 to start the second half only to have WAO’s Woinarowicz answer with a three point play and Pierce followed with a three pointer for 39-23 lead.  The Ponies continued to slowly build on their lead and took a 55-37 lead on a beautiful move by Mortimer inside halfway through the half.  WAO finally expanded their lead to 20-plus points behind an 8-0 run with two free throws from Mortimer and six points from Woinarowicz for a 65-41 lead with 4:12 remaining.  The Freeze finally stopped the run with a basket before both teams went to the bench and WAO coasted to a 70-43 victory.

Warren-Alvarado-Oslo improves to 25-3 on the year and will play Sacred Heart in the Section 8A semi-finals (West Sub-Section championship game) at 7:45 PM and can be heard on KROX Radio or viewed on the KROX video stream.  Northern Freeze season comes to an end with a record of 18-9. 

FOR PONIES COACH CHRISTIAN ERICKSON’S COMMENTS, CLICK BELOW