Girls

A tough night offensively proved to be Minneapolis’s downfall in its 47-37 home loss to Beloit on Friday.

The Lions never could get going and were held to less than 10 points in three of the four quarters.

Senior Cameron Cleveland led Minneapolis (6-4 overall; 3-2 NCAA) with 12 points and was named the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game. Freshman Maci McClure added 7 points as well as the H&R Block of the Game.

For Beloit (5-5; 3-1), Addison Budke poured in 14 points, and Mylie Brown had 11.

Beloit led 28-14 at the half, as Minneapolis was plagued with turnovers, miscommunications and missed shots.

The Lions were able to cut it down a single-digit game in the second half, but they couldn’t prevent Beloit from answering back. Minneapolis also dealt with some foul trouble throughout. Two players fouled out and more had to take long seats on the bench after piling up fouls.

Minneapolis has now lost three in a row, while Beloit snapped a two-game skid.

Boys

Long stretches of little to no points have hindered Minneapolis’s success this season, and a second half drought on Friday cost the Lions in their 44-31 loss to Beloit.

Minneapolis (2-8 overall; 0-5 NCAA) shot well early, making five three-pointers in the first half. The Lions failed to make one in the final two quarters though, and only scored six points in each of the last two frames. The fall from offensive grace in the second half allowed Beloit to stack up a solid lead and hold it until the end.

Colby Rice paced Minneapolis with 12 points and was picked as the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game. Mason Scott added 8. Kolten Hoppe had the H&R Block of the Game.

Beloit’s Caleb Burks led all scorers with 13 points, including four three-pointers, and Quinn Eilert dropped in 11.

Minneapolis led 10-9 after one quarter, but Beloit (8-2; 3-1) took hold of the lead in the second quarter and never relinquished it again.

The Trojans relied on the three-ball all night, as their leading scorer coming into the night, Bryce Beisner, struggled to find any production in the paint. Beloit as a team made four more three-pointers than it did two-pointers. With that said, the Minneapolis defense still held Beloit to a season low in points.

The win is the seventh in a row for the Trojans. Minneapolis has lost five of its last six.

The Minneapolis boys head to the Rupp Tournament in Halstead next week. They’ll face Andale on Tuesday at 6 p.m. They’ll play two more guaranteed games later in the week regardless of win or loss.

The Minneapolis girls host Ell-Saline also on Tuesday at 6 p.m. That game can be heard on 92.7 The New Zoo, with pregame coverage starting at 5:45.