Photo by Kim Nelson Russell-Tyler-Ruthton forward Drew Werkman (50) shoots a jumper over an HLOF defender during a boys basketball game in Tyler on Thursday night.

TYLER — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights entertained the Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda Coyotes in a Red Rock Conference game Thursday night. RTR came into the contest with a 7-4 record, while HLOF was looking for only their second win this season. The Coyotes are a better team than their record indicates, and they are coming off a 2-point loss to Southwest Christian. Their 1-11 record is not a reflection of how hard they play, and RTR came out a little sluggish in the early going. But the Knights were able to build a 36-18 lead in the first half, and even though HLOF played a much better second half, they fell to the Knights by a score of 72-46.

Both teams struggled to score in the early minutes of the first half, but thanks to balanced scoring by the Knights. The Coyotes had a 10-7 lead, but RTR went on an 18-0 run to give them some breathing room. Sam Goedtke broke the run with a basket, but Chase Christianson scored nine points in the half, and Andrew Meyers and Drew Werkman each had eight to build the lead back up. HLOF freshman Bryce Nelson had six points in the half, and Logan Gass and Logan Hattendorf each had four to keep HLOF in the game. For RTR, Blake Christianson scored four points, Luke Schreurs added a three-pointer and Carson Gylling and Eli Determan each had a field goal to give RTR a comfortable 36-18 halftime lead.

The second half was much more competitive, with Sam Goedtke catching fire with nine second-half points. Bryce Nielsen continued his fine night with seven points, including a three-pointer. Logan Hattendorf finished with nine points, Logan Gass had eight points, and Tim Salentiny rounded out the scoring with a long-range shot. For RTR, Drew Werkman picked up where he left off, and ended the night as the leading scorer with 22 points. Chase Christianson totaled 16 for the game, and Luke Schreurs, Andrew Meyers and Blake Christianson each had a three-pointer. Carson Gylling had a field goal in each half, and Colton Thomsen added two in the victory.

Coyotes Head Coach Carter Grupp liked his team’s effort, saying, “The second half went a lot better, and we kept fighting, even though we were down. We had a lot better ball movement, and guys stepped up to keep us in the game. Bryce Nielsen is only a freshman, but he has incredible instincts, he can rebound, and he has good athleticism and he stepped up tonight, being our leading scorer. Sam Goedtke made some tough shots in the second half, but with this group, it is just learning how to play as a team. We need to get good ball movement, particularly against the variety of zones that RTR threw at us tonight. They switched it up all night, and our guys need to understand what works against that. We work on that in practice, and we need to apply that in the game.”

RTR Head Coach Daren Gravley thought his team came out a little flat against an underrated opponent, “Their record isn’t really a very good indicator of how hard they play, and how well they compete. You have to throw the records out the window, and we came out sluggish. Whether there is a buzz before the game or not, you still have to create your own energy. We had good bench energy, and we talked all year about being efficient with both our starters and our bench. We need to communicate, and when we do that, our feet are moving and we are more efficient. I thought we did a good job of getting through those first three or four minutes, and we did a phenomenal job of rebounding. That is the way we want to play because you have to take care of the glass before you can get out and run. The strength of our team is our inside game, we know that, and other teams know that. We did a good job of playing to our strength.”

RTR now stands at 8-4, while HLOF falls to 1-12. RTR takes on Tracy-Milroy-Balaton tonight at 7:15 p.m.