The Menahga Braves boys basketball team returned seven veterans to varsity court, and the experience has already paid off.

The Braves opened the season on December 4 with a 69-56 victory over the Hornets at Hill City. Senior guard Derek Pihlaja led the way in scoring 24 points. Junior forward Tom Gruchow posted a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds and senior forward Marlin Aho also recorded a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Junior guard Kasey Tyge notched 10 boards, eight assists and nine points.

The Braves opened the game with a 9-1 run, then pushed their advantage to 22-4 early in the first half.

Menahga’s lead had grown to 24 points midway through the second half before foul trouble reared its head. Gruchow and Ben Skoog fouled out and Kasey Tyge was riding the line with four personal fouls. Hill City seized the opportunity to catch up, but were still down by 13 at the final buzzer.

Last year, Menahga pegged just three wins in its first 12 contests and never were able to turn things around. A season opening victory was an important first step, but Coach Jeremy Nordick knows he needs more overall effort to post a winning season.

“I like where we’re at up to this point, but we need to continue to improve. Our young guys need to step up when they have opportunities,” said Nordick.

The Braves have enough experience to get the job done. Pihlaja was selected for the All Park Region Conference team last season after averaging 19.5 points per game, and Gruchow received an honorable mention. Aho and Tyge have also returned and together with returning lettermen Matt Skoog (senior), Sean Dormanen (junior), Ben Skoog (junior), the team should be in position to pull together a good season.

Also competing for varsity time are juniors Wade Skoog and Derek Hendrickson; sophomores Ryan Aho, Markus Tolkkinen and Justin Luedke and freshman Brandon Junes.

The Braves played at Browerville on December 8, then return to Menahga for their home opener on Friday, December 11 against the state-ranked number four team, the Sebeka Trojans.