LA CROSSE — Foul trouble made it difficult for Holmen High School junior Jayden Bartels to get into any kind of flow during a nonconference game against Amery on Saturday morning.
But when Bartels found that flow, the Vikings flourished.
Bartels was saddled with two fouls just 3 minutes, 13 seconds into the game, but he scored all 17 of his points in the second half to help Holmen come from behind and post a 79-73 victory over the Warriors in a Midwest Players Classic game at the La Crosse Center.
The Vikings (9-4) fought back from multiple 14-point deficits in the second half behind Bartels, senior Alex Berget and sophomore Ayden Reister to win their second game in a row heading into a home game Tuesday against Logan (1-10).
Bartels, who leads the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game, just hit his average, but his four 3-pointers and one 3-point play were critical in the comeback.
“I started the game getting two (fouls), and I started getting down on myself and was frustrated with the team and how I was playing,” Bartels said. “I didn’t score in the first half, and I went in the locker room. We have great coaches and they came up to me and told me to keep my confidence.”
Aside from a 2-1 lead very early in the game, Holmen trailed by 54-40 and 58-44 margins in the second half while trying to get a handle on Amery junior Keaton Wollan, a 6-foot-3 guard who plays as well in the post as he shoots from the perimeter and handles the ball.
Wollan finished with 29 points, but his last basket came with 7:27 remaining and gave the Warriors (7-7) a 66-57 lead.
Bartels didn’t score his first basket until 15:23 remained in the game, but he made three 3-pointers in the span of seven minutes, and Reister added six points as the Vikings clawed their way back into the game.
After Wollan’s final basket, Jax Meyer scored and Berget and Brody Wilber added 3-pointers to get the Vikings within 66-65 with 4:56 left.
A three-point play by Berget tied the score at 68 with 3:51 left, and Holmen took its first lead since the opening minute of the game when Bartels dropped in a 3-pointer for a 73-71 advantage with 1:33 to go.
“In the first half, we didn’t play our basketball,” Bartels said. “We were really rough. Once we started hitting some shots, playing defense, getting steals, we all get energized.”
The defense on Wollan improved as the game progressed. He scored 20 points in the first half but just nine in the second.
Berget finished with a team-high 20 points for Holmen. Sophomore Cohen Kendhammer added 12 and Reister, who entered the game averaging 4.6 points, scored 11.
The win was important because the Vikings have already lost one game by two points and another by three. A close victory will help with experience in such situations the rest of the season.
