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The Dogs outscored the Huskies 17-1 at the free throw line, including 11-0 in the second half, as they defeated Albany on Thursday.

Albany used its defense to beat the Dogs 44-28 at PAHS in December, and this time the Dogs put the shackles on Albany, who got 26 points from senior guard Eric Overmann and 20 points from the rest of their team. The Dogs had 19 steals and pounded the glass for 56 rebounds, including 24 by junior Cory Nietfeld. Their rebounding and defense offset 26 turnovers and tepid shooting (38 percent).

"We came out strong in Albany, building a 21-7 lead at one time and forcing some turnovers and rushed shots with our press," said coach Phil Carlson. "They came back with their own pressure and closed the gap. The difference in the game was our steady and consistent defensive pressure and strong rebounding."

The Dogs led 31-22 at the half, with Nietfeld scoring a dozen points in the first half. (He would add another dozen in the second half.) Junior Ben Moser also had all eight of his points in the first half.

The Dogs outscored Albany 28-24 in the second half. After senior Mark Andrie's three-pointer, the Dogs scored their last nine points on free throws from Andrie, senior Derek Stanger, and Nietfeld.

"In the end," said Carlson, "Stanger, Nietfeld, and Andrie sealed the deal with free throws and boards. It's been a long time since Paynesville has won in Albany, and we hope to keep playing strong and improving in each game."

Nietfeld finished with 24 points, 24 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks. Andrie added 12 points, three assists, and three steals.

With the win, the Dogs improved to 3-5 in the WCC North and moved into a tie for fifth place with Albany and LPGE. New London-Spicer leads at 8-0, Melrose is second at 6-2, Sauk Centre is third at 5-3, and Minnewaska is fourth at 4-4. Winless Cathedral is eighth at 0-8.

The Dogs are now 6-7 overall, one win from reaching .500.

This week, the Dogs hosted conference-leading NL-S on Tuesday. They will travel to second-place Melrose on Friday night. NL-S is rated fifth in Class AA in the state, and Melrose is rated eighth.

Next week, the Dogs will host section-rival Howard Lake-Waverly on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Paynesville--	31	28	- 59
Albany--	22	24	- 46

SCORING: (FG-FT/FTA-PTS)
Paynesville 59 - Cory Nietfeld 10-4/8-24; Mark Andrie 4-3/4-12; Ben Moser 3-1/1-8; Derek Stanger 2-4/7-8; Aaron Braun 1-5/7-7; TOTALS: FG 20/52, FT 17/27, 3's 2.

Albany 46 - Josh Overman 11-1/3-26; Cole Schiffler 4-0/0-10; Josh Wolford 3-0/0-6; Bryce Rushmeyer 1-0/0-2; Mike Stiller 1-0/0-2; TOTALS: FG 20, FT 1/3, 3's 5.

STATISTICS: 3-pointers - 2 Andrie 1; Moser 1; Rebounds - 56 Nietfeld 24; Moser 9; Stanger 8; Assists - 16 Nietfeld 5; Stanger 4; Andrie 3; ; Steals - 19 Stanger 5; Andrie 3; Moser 3; Nietfeld 3; Elliott Wall 3; Blocks - 6 Nietfeld 3; Moser 2.

Dogs 83, Maple Lake 76
The Bulldogs jumped to a 17-0 lead and never trailed, though they needed some free throws in the end to clinch an 83-76 nonconference victory over Maple Lake on Monday, Jan. 23.

The Dogs got 31 points from junior Ben Moser, including 11 as they scored the first 17 points of the game. Moser had 22 points in the first half as the Dogs led 44-31 at halftime.

The Irish, though, made 11 three-pointers and rallied to contest the game. They outscored the Dogs 45-39 in the second half, but the Dogs held on to win. Junior Cory Nietfeld scored 13 points in the second half for the Dog and recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Senior Derek Stanger was the Dogs' go-to guy in the end, said coach Phil Carlson, as Stanger scored seven points late in the game, finishing with 11 points.

Senior Mark Andrie made four straight free throws at the end of the game to seal the win (and finished perfect in eight attempts at the free throw line). He added 10 points.

Senior forward Aaron Braun was the only other Bulldog to score, recording eight points. He got six of his points off three putback baskets.

Carlson credited good ball movement and passing as well as key free throws and composure for the victory.

The Dogs had 27 assists for the game. They also shot 56 percent (33 for 56), aided by making 23 layups.

Maple Lake--	31	45	- 76
Paynesville--	44	39	- 83

SCORING: (FG-FT/FTA-PTS)
Maple Lake 76 - Travis Nordling 9-0/2-22; Hunter Coughlin 4-2/2-11; Jared Holt 3-3/3-10; Doug Mavencamp 4-0/0-10; Nick Hudek 4-0/2-8; Jade Katila 3-0/0-7; Zach Nordling 1-0/0-3; Seth Peterson 1-0/0-3; Grant Olsen 1-0/0-2; TOTALS: FG 30, FT 5/9, 3's 11.

Paynesville 83 - Ben Moser 13-3/3-31; Cory Nietfeld 10-3/4-23; Derek Stanger 5-1/5-11; Mark Andrie 1-8/8-10; Aaron Braun 4-0/0-8; Elliott Wall 0-0/2-0; TOTALS: FG 33/56, FT 15/22, 3's 2.

STATISTICS: 3-pointers - 2 Moser 2; Rebounds - 53 Nietfeld 11; Moser 10; Stanger 9; Wall 8; Andrie 7; Braun 5; Assists - 27 Nietfeld 10; Andrie 5; Moser 5; Stanger 3; Steals - 19 Nietfeld 6; Andrie 3; Moser 3; Wall 3; Stanger 2; Blocks - 6 Nietfeld 3; Moser 2.