Boys’ basketball has tough time on the hardwood

New Prague’s boys’ basketball team continues to have a tough time. The Trojans lost a home game Tuesday, Feb. 4, to Waconia, 71-56, and fell short in a close, 61-56, Friday, Feb. 7, game at Chaska. New Prague has three home games this week. The first was Tuesday, Feb. 11, with a 93-64 loss to Orono. Next, the Trojans host St. Louis Park Thursday, Feb. 13, at 7 p.m., then faces Kasson-Mantorville Friday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. in the Trojans’ gym. New Prague will be on the road Tuesday, Feb. 18, at Benilde-St. Margaret’s for a 7 p.m. game.

Waconia 71, Trojans 56 “We battled most of the first half. Waconia went on a run in the last few minutes and took a 10 point lead at half,” said New Prague head coach Dan Peterka. The Trojans had a two-pointer shooting percentage of 41% while Waconia was 59%. Shooting from beyond the arc, both teams were close at 38%. New Prague did better at the free-throw line scoring 10 points out of 14 attempts, while Waconia made seven shots out of 13 attempts. The Trojans were able to make 19 points off of turnovers to Waconia’s eight. The Wildcats had 17 offensive rebounds to New Prague’s six, while Waconia had 26 defensive rebounds to the Trojans’ 15. New Prague seniors Toby Bleess and Evan Weichert led everyone in scoring as they both had 20 points. Bleess made six two-pointers, four three-pointers and was four for four at the free-throw line. Weichert hit eight two-point shots, one three-pointer and hit three free-throws for six attempts. Junior Andrew King had six points for the night, sophomore Carter DenHartog had five points, junior Myles Tietz chipped in three points and senior Jacob Neiderhiser added two points.

Chaska 61, Trojans 56 “We had a really good start but couldn't sustain it,” said New Prague head coach Dan Peterka. “We had a lead in the first half, and the game was tied at halftime.” The Trojans were feeling good coming out of the break with a 31-all score. Rebounds were close for both teams. New Prague had 10 offensive rebounds to Chaska’s seven and the Hawks had 22 defensive rebounds to the Trojans’ 17. New Prague hit 15 two-pointers out of 31 attempts, while the Hawks had 21 for 29. For three-pointers, the Trojans had five for 24 attempts to Chaska’s four for 16 attempts. At the free-throw line, New Prague hit eight for 11 attempts to the Hawks’ seven shots out of 20 attempts. Trojan Evan Weichert led his team in scoring with 16 points, hitting seven two-pointers, one three-pointer and one free-throw. Toby Bleess was close behind with 14 points. Myles Tietz had eight points and Carter DenHartog had six. Sophomore Spencer Bahn added five points and Andrew King chipped in four.