The Vikings were down 3 points at half and turned up the defensive notch in the second to fight back, and stayed within reach the rest of the way. But, a difference maker down the stretch was MACCRAY’s 17 of 30 free-throw shooting to Minneota’s 7 of 13.

“We went to a smaller lineup, and we put pressure on them [MACCRAY]. That’s what we started the year in, is that kind of style of defense, but we’ve had to go away from it just due to injuries and illness, and we just haven’t had the depth that we started the year off with,” Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. “We needed to crank up the defensive pressure, and it worked for us. I think that was a key factor of getting us back in.”

Tristen Sussner led the way with 14 points, while Ian Myhre had a trio of 3-pointers for 13 points. Jase Sorensen added in another 10 points, while Hunter Carstensen had a team-high 11 rebounds.

Both teams shot competitively from deep, Minneota making 10 3-pointers to MACCRAY’s seven.

Minneota's London Tolk breaks through two defenders for a basket in the first half.

Minneota has now lost its last five games, but three of the five have come down to the final minutes or last possession. Coach Johnston credited his team’s competitiveness and the ability to stay focused, while the group works on coming out on the winning side in close games.

“A part of it is, in some [games] like tonight, we get ourselves in a hole too deep in the first place and we’ve got to scramble to get out. Now, we’ve had a couple games that you’ve watched where we were ahead, and then all of a sudden we just lose it … That’s something that we got to figure out,” coach Johnston said. “We needed them [MACCRAY] to miss maybe a couple more free throws to keep that just a little bit closer, but, you know, like I just told the kids, we are fighting. We’re right there … We just got to get working and keep executing.”

Johnston also noted the team has been dealing with injuries and illnesses to start this season, as the coaching staff continues to experiment with lineups.

MACCRAY’s height in seniors Jaden Dirksen and Peyton Schlagel — who stand at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7, respectively — presented an early challenge for Minneota. The Wolverines continued to look inside to the duo, while also being a strong force on defense between rebounding or tipping passes.

Dirksen finished with 13 points, while Schlagel finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Jonah Janssen had the hot hand with a game-high points.

Minneota's Jase Sorensen dribbles the ball up the court in the first half against MACCRAY Friday night.

Carstensen and Kyson Ardnt paired up with Dirksen and Schlagel, who are both 6-foot-5.

“Unfortunately, we just got caught standing behind them [Dirksen and Schlagel] a lot, and that’s something we can’t do. When we got later in the game, I was trying to get our guys to front them … It’s sometimes hard to make an adjustment if you don’t practice it,” coach Johnston said of managing MACCRAY’s height. “They were pounding it inside, and then when you start worrying about that, they shot [47%] from the three point line tonight. So, when they would look to come down, they would just kick it out and just hit a 3.”

The Vikings kicked their defense into high gear in the second half, playing man coverage and applying a full court press that flustered the Wolverines.

MACCRAY expanded its lead to 57-43 after a Leo Hennen 3-pointer to spark Minneota’s momentum.

Easton Johnston made back-to-back fastbreak layups with steals off the press, while Bradley followed that up with the and-1 and the free throw to cut into a 59-52 deficit.

Johnston led the team with three steals.

Minneota hit another pair of 3-pointers from Even Jerzak and Myhre to bring the game down to 5 points, 65-60, with two minutes to play.

“At halftime, we just talked about fixing what we were doing in the first half. They [MACCRAY] were running a zone, we were actually expecting a little bit more of a 1-3-1 and they were running a 1-2-2,” coach Johnston said. “We just weren’t real fluid in it, just because we haven’t seen that type of a defense yet this year. So, we just tried to work on fine tuning that a little bit in the second half. Then once we just got to a certain point in the game, it just turned into, ‘We got to crank it up.'”

Sussner had a driving layup while Myhre drilled in a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds remaining to keep the Vikings in the fight, down 69-65, but came up short as MACCRAY hit a few late free throws as time continued to run down the rest of the way.

MACCRAY finished the night shooting 46% from the field and held Minneota to 32%.

Hennen got the scoring started with a midrange jumpshot off tip off, while the Vikings’ looked strong from deep to begin the game.

MACCRAY applied a zone defense, forcing Minneota to look outside. Sorensen hit a 3-pointer as did Johnston right after for an 8-5 lead. Sorensen had 5 of the Vikings’ first 10 points.

The Wolverines and Vikings fed off one another and traded a few first-half leads, before MACCRAY embarked on an 8-0 to eventually take a 28-19 lead with four minutes to go in the half.

Sussner and Myhre each hit a 3-pointer for a 17-15 edge, yet Minneota began to struggle with giving up a string of turnovers over the course of a few minutes either trying to look inside or with MACCRAY interrupting the passing lanes.

Dirksen gave MACCRAY its 28-19 lead after receiving the ball in the paint and spinning around for an open shot, just as Myhre stopped the Wolverine’s run with a 3.

Kellen Bradley and Sussner hit back-to-back baskets to cut into a 32-28 deficit in response, with Sussner getting the last shot with a pair of free throws to end the half with Minneota trailing 33-30.

Minneota (2-8) will next travel to Bird Island to take on BOLD (1-9) on Monday at 7 p.m. The Vikings will then play Ortonville (2-8) on Tuesday, before taking on undefeated ninth-ranked Central Minnesota Christian (9-0) next Friday.