Wolves dominate second half, roll to 77-46 win to advance to face a familar foe the Audubon Wheelers
MANNING — The IKM-Manning Wolves opened postseason play with a strong performance on Monday night, as they pulled away in the second half to defeat the Paton-Churdan Rockets, 77–46, in Class 1A District 15 action.
From the opening tip, the Wolves played with confidence and pace.
Ben Ramsey set the tone early with perimeter scoring against the Rockets’ zone, which forced defensive changes.
His shooting opened space inside, where Brock Kusel cleaned up misses and finished strong at the rim. The Wolves built an early cushion and jumped out to a 23–6 lead before taking a 23–9 advantage into the second quarter.
Paton-Churdan responded midway through the first half behind the physical play of Trevon Keely and Donovan Martin.
The Rockets attacked the basket and drew fouls, trimming the lead to single digits. The Wolves answered with poise.
Ramsey attacked the rim for a tough basket, and the defense tightened up to limit quality looks. Despite late Rockets free throws and a basket at the buzzer, IKM-Manning carried a 36–29 lead into halftime.
Any hope of a Rockets comeback ended soon after the break. The Wolves opened the second half with strong defense that turned into quick offense.
Ramsey controlled the tempo and found Wyatt Danner for a key basket before Danner knocked down a timely three. Kusel continued to control the paint, finishing through contact as the Wolves pushed the lead to double digits.
The decisive stretch came midway through the second half. A series of stops, rebounds, and quick scores forced a Rockets timeout after Tyson Smith hit a transition three.
From there, the lead grew past 20, and the Wolves never allowed Paton-Churdan to regain rhythm. Even after Danner fouled out, IKM-Manning showed depth and composure.
The Wolves closed the game with control on both ends. Isaac Blankman knocked down a three off a pass from Ramsey, while Ashton Ahrenholtz provided steady offense.
Kusel capped off his night with two more baskets as the Wolves pushed the margin past 30. Reserves entered late and continued to extend the lead as the Wolves secured the 77–46 win.
Ramsey led the Wolves with 23 points, six rebounds, and eight assists. Kusel also finished with 23 points, along with nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
IKM-Manning head coach Keith Wagner praised his team’s response.“We played three good quarters against Paton-Churdan,” Wagner said.
“The second quarter gave us some trouble with re-bounding and keeping them away from the basket, but we bounced back. Brock and Ben did a great job on offense.”
Wagner also looked ahead to the next matchup.“We have to keep rebounding,” Wagner said.
“Audubon is a very good team, and we need everyone ready. That makes us hard to defend.”
The Wolves advance to face the Audubon Wheelers on Thursday night in Audubon.
IKM-Manning defeated Audubon 61–52 less than a week ago.
Thursday’s contest marks the second round of Class 1A District 15 play, with tipoff set for 7 p.m.
The winner advances to the district final on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders, and will face the winner of Coon Rapids-Bayard and ACGC Chargers.
