The Audubon Wheelers dominated the Lenox Tigers on Monday night by a score of 69-33. It was a wire to wire victory for Audubon, who will host the next round of the District Tournament on Thursday. It was apparent early in the first half that this game would be a blowout, as the Wheelers got out to a 21-7 lead in the first quarter. That lead built as the game went on, with Audubon leading 42-19 at the half. Three Wheelers finished in double digits and rode that 1st half lead to a double digit victory to move on in the playoffs.

The first half was really where Audubon established their dominance. They played through contact early and had multiple And-1 opportunities just within the first quarter. Jorgen Nowatzke really stood out in the first half. Nowatzke, who averaged 10 ppg in the regular season, had 10 with 6 minutes left in the first half. The Wheelers worked the offense through him and got other shooters open when he couldn’t get a shot. Audubon scored 21 in each of the first two quarters and held a controlling 42-19 lead at the half.

In the third quarter, it was the Wheeler’s defense that really stepped up. They allowed just 6 points in the whole quarter. They did a nice job all game to trap the ball handlers in positions where they couldn’t move the ball. Austin Christensen ran a lot of fast breaks off steals and multiple times found Aiden Kjergaard on the other end for wide open buckets. The Wheelers scored 14 in the third and led 56-25 with 8 minutes to go.

The 4th quarter was mostly filled with running the clock and playing smart basketball as to not let the Tigers gain any momentum. All it took was a few three pointers from Brody Schultes to put the game away officially. Audubon was able to put in the reserves with a few minutes to go, putting the exclamation mark on a dominant start to the District Tournament for Audubon. Coach Darren Miller couldn’t be happier about the result of Monday’s game.

The Wheelers’ balanced offensive attack led to their success:

This win was about playing to their strengths:

Audubon is excited about another chance to play IKM-Manning on Thursday:

The Audubon Wheelers’ next matchup will be against IKM-Manning for a chance to go to the District 15 Championship Game. That will be held in Audubon on Thursday, February 19th. Tipoff scheduled for 7:00 pm