Despite strong second half, Albert Lea falls to Owatonna

Dropping its first two games of the season, the Albert Lea boys’ basketball team came into Friday night’s game against Owatonna looking for its first win of the season.

The Tigers were hot from behind the three-point line early, but eventually their turnovers and inability to contain the Huskies offense doomed them, as they fell, 85-48.

Junior Parker Anderson was the first to put the Tigers on the board with two three-pointers just a couple possessions apart, bringing them to within five and back in striking distance. Sophomore Andrew Willner continued the barrage from deep with a couple of three-pointers of his own. By that time, however, the Tigers were down by 10 points.

Albert Lea’s first two-point field goal didn’t come until under five minutes to go in the half. It came from senior Garret Piechowski, with a pull-up jumper in the lane.

The Tigers would add a couple more points to their total before the half, but would head to the locker rooms down 57-21.

Albert Lea would come out and play a much better second half. Just like its last game, the team would double its point total within the first 10 minutes of the second half.

Despite their second-half efforts, the Tigers were outmatched by the size and offensive firepower of the Huskies. The Tigers would keep up with the Huskies in the second half by a score of 28-27. However, the deficit would be too much to overcome, as the Tigers dropped their third game of the season. 

The Tigers were led in scoring by Anderson with eight points, sophomores J.J. Owens and Connor Veldman each had seven, and Piechowski and Willner had six each. The team’s leading rebounder was junior Dylan Scherff with six boards; Owens was right behind, as he was able to pull down five.

Albert Lea drops to 0-3 this season and will be back in action Tuesday when the team travels to Rochester to take on the Century Panthers.