RIVER FALLS — River Falls and Prescott boys basketball each took part in the Jan. 2-3 Holiday Classic in River Falls. The two squads had success during their winter game slates, taking strides before the heavy conference stretch hits.

River Falls went 3-1 between a Superior Holiday Tournament and the one the Wildcats hosted. The Wildcats beat Cherry 101-79, Superior 56-54 and La Crosse Logan 85-44, but lost 93-68 to D.C. Everest.

In Superior, River Falls got into a shootout against Cherry. Cousins Noah and Isaiah Asuma each scored 32 points; however, the Wildcat offense was even better. Tanner Bottolfson scored 29 and Brody Graetz tacked on 26 with 13 assists.

Against Superior, the game came down to the wire, with Graetz dropping a bounce pass to Austin Stellrecht for a layup with seconds remaining to defeat previously unbeaten Superior.

“I thought that was a really successful trip for us,” Head Coach Zach Turpin said. “I thought our execution there at the end of the game was great.”

Turpin said it was two different styles of game with one being a shootout and the other slow and grinded out, an example of styles of games they will face in conference play.

Stellrecht had 24 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

“It’s nice to have some other guys step up. Brody’s been really consistent for us this year, and I think he’s done a great job facilitating stuff for us and getting other guys involved,” Turpin said. “It’s really nice not to have to rely on one guy.”

Returning home, the loss to D.C. Everest was a tough one to a talented squad.

“Gotta give them a lot of credit, I thought they shot the ball extremely well, they passed the ball extremely well,” Turpin said. “They have some really, really good athletes, and put us in some tough situations.”

A game like that taught the Wildcats a lot. They know they need to play with physicality and keep teams out of the lane, a wrinkle they have a few months to iron out.

“We played three really good teams with some really good guards. We still have some work just defending the ball and keeping it out of the lane a little bit more,” Turpin said. “That’s why you schedule those games is so you can go against teams that show what your weaknesses are.”

Prescott

Prescott played a pair of games over the weekend, making quick work of La Crosse Logan in a 62-30 win in River Falls before heading for a road trip to Northwestern and winning 71-47. Leading 37-10 at the half in River Falls, the Cardinals got the starters out early and kept them rested for much of the game.

Against Northwestern, senior Kobe Russell led the way with 22 points and nine assists, followed by senior Jackson Matzek with 15 and junior Emmett Otto with 14.

After not playing a game since Dec. 15, Head Coach Nick Johnson was impressed with how the Cardinals returned to live action.

“I was a little worried about that long break. I thought we had some pretty good practices going into that,” Johnson said. “I was pretty impressed with our kids the way they came out.”

Prescott continues to play to its offensive strength: spreading the scoring out. Johnson has full confidence in the defense, and with four straight conference games coming up, the offensive improvement needs to continue.

“Continue to be consistent and steady on our offense,” Johnson said. “I thought the first four or five games we’d go through minutes where we really struggled to get a good look, a good basket. We’ve gotten so much better with our movement and all the little things offensively.”

Johnson said if they can get more easy baskets they will be hard to beat given the fact that they have tough shot makers and willing defenders.

The Northwestern road trip was a solid show of the Cardinals’ capabilities, beating a solid team that they may see down the road.

“It showed me a lot of the focus. To have a long layoff. To play in River Falls, a gym that we sometimes struggle with, go up there and play really well, and then, again, a long trip like that to come out and get the job done, I think it really shows you that our kids are all in,” Johnson said.