ALEXANDRIA — After Brainerd trailed most of the second half, Tony Sauer hit a 12-foot shot with three seconds left to give the Warriors a 64-63 Central Lakes Conference win over the Alexandria Cardinals Thursday.
Riley Kline’s 14 points paced the Warriors, who got 13 points from Marcus Comstock and 11 from Jagar Hanson.
“We were down four to six points most of the second half,” said Brainerd head coach Scott Stanfield. “We caught up in the end by getting a few steals and making free throws.”
Brainerd hit on 19 of 24 attempts (79 percent) from the line.
“Marcus Comstock went 4-of-4 from the line late in the game and that was huge for us,” Stanfield said. “They were clutch free throws, mostly one and ones.”
Following the basket by Sauer, the Warriors got a steal on the inbound pass to improve to 1-1 in the conference and 4-1 overall.
“This was a real fun game,” said Stanfield. “The kids executed really well down the stretch.”
Alexandria 36 27 — 63
Bainerd 35 29 — 64
ALEXANDRIA
Jordan Smith 13, Austin Storm 21, John Vogeler 6, Logan Doyle 10, Clayton Cozad 1, AJ Anderson 12. FT 23-36 (64 percent), 3-point baskets: Smith 2, Storm.
BRAINERD
Blake Peterson 5, Tony Sauer 4, Jack Sauer 4, Riley Kline 14, Marcus Comstock 13, Jacob Blong 9, Jagar Hanson 11. FT 19-24 (79 percent), 3-point baskets: Peterson, Blong, Hanson. Conference: 1-1. Overall: 4-1. Next: at Owatonna tournament Tuesday.
