Avery Liestman scored 15 points and Ben Nelson added 13 as Litchfield topped Dassel-Cokato 59-41 in the opening round of the Section 5AA boys basketball tournament Thursday at Litchfield High School.
The fourth-seeded Dragons, 17-9, will meet fifth-seeded Maranatha, 16-10, in the section quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at St. Michael-Albertville High School.
Litchfield, which had beaten Dassel-Cokato twice in the regular season, struggled to take command of the game in the first half. In the end, though, the Chargers, 6-18, could not keep up with Litchfield's torrid shooting.
The Dragons hit on 24 of 45 shots (53 percent) from the field, including 18 of 30 (60 percent) from two-point range.
Nelson, a senior, had one of his biggest games of the season, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points.
Meanwhile, junior guard Ben Alsleben led the team with six assists. Junior guard Tyson Michels added 10 points and four assists.
Litchfield 59, Dassel-Cokato 31
Dassel-Cokato 21 20 — 41
Litchfield 30 29 — 59
DASSEL-COKATO — Sanders Asplin 19 (8 rebounds), Ethan Mayer 0, Eli Gillman 8, Cade Ortquist 9, Jacob Gnerer 0, Ben Smock 0, Ethan Stertz 0, Gaige Webb 0, Kyan Lynk 2, David Miller 0, Luke Woetzel 0, Mason Ailie 0, Solomon Jorgensen 3. FG 11-47, 3-pointers 4-22 (Gilman 2, Ortquist 2).
LITCHFIELD — Ben Alsleben 2, Bret Wendlandt 0, Tyson Michels 10, Avery Liestman 15, Tanner Ziegenhagen 0, Logan Graphenteen 2, Drew Kotzer 6, Ben Nelson 13 (10 rebounds), Logan King 0, Beau Weseloh 7, Gabe Peel 0, Alex Draeger 0, Tanner Kohls 0, Elijah Schacherer 0, Dom Dietel 2, Conrad Yungk 2, Levi Schmidt 0, Christian Kelsey 0. FG 24-45, 3 pointers 6-15 (Michels, Liestman 3, Kotzer, Weseloh).
