MARSHALL — Dawson Boyd, Russell Tyler Ruthen and Tracy Milroy-Balaton led 12 area schools with two each named to the Independent All-Area boys basketball team, the Independent reported Saturday. Announced.
For the Dawson Boyd Blackjacks, who spent most of the season as the No. 2 team in Class A, juniors Brayson Boyk and Drew Helmeland were selected to the first and second teams, respectively. Blackjack also received honorable mention honors as a sophomore guard. Gunner Libre.
The Blackjacks' towering frontcourt duo provided consistent and efficient scoring. The 6-foot-7 Boike averaged 25.8 points per game and shot 55.4 percent from the field, while the 6-foot-6 Germeland added 17.5 points per game and shot 63.1 percent from the field.
Boyk also surpassed Michael Lee's program scoring record of 1,678 points, set in 2015. Boyk still has a full season left to continue making history for the program.
On the defensive side of the court, Boike and Helmeland were a nightmare for opposing offenses in the paint. Germeland's 2.5 blocks per game were second in the area, and Boik added another 2.0 blocks.
Murray County Central's Bryce Hookman led the area with 2.6 blocks per game. The 6-foot-9 big man was also the Rebels' leading scorer with 19.6 PPG and 59.4% eFG.
Dawson-Boyd went 26-3 on the season, ending the season with a loss to Minneota in the section tournament. The upset paved the way for Russell-Tyler-Leuston to advance to the tournament for the third straight year.
Drew Workman has been a key contributor to these runs for the third year in a row. The reigning Independent Player of the Year once again showed his quality as he scored 18.9 points per game on 59.4% eFG and added 10.7 boards per game for a double-double. We have created a great season. His 3.4 assists per game were second on the Knights behind Blake Christianson's 3.7 assists.
Junior Chase Christianson also broke out for the Knights, scoring 16 points per game. His 70.3% eFG made him the most efficient scorer on the All-Area team. He also added 6.1 rebounds per game and led the Knights with 1.0 blocks per game.
Tracy Milroy Balaton Panthers jumped from 8-19 last year to 17-10 in the 2023-24 season. Leading the way for the Panthers was the junior guard duo of Trevor Smith and Alex Munson.
Smith was the area's leading scorer, averaging 25.9 points per game on a 49.5% eFG percentage. His 78 3-pointers also tied him for the most among all-area honorees, along with Camby's honorable mention Michael Tolle.
Manson did a little bit of everything for TMB. In addition to averaging 18.4 points per game, he led the area with 6.3 assists per game and had a team-high 9.7 rebounds per game.
Isaac Simonson rounds out the All-Area first team players. The Red Rock Central senior center grabbed the area rebounding title with an impressive 17.3 rebounds per game. He didn't skimp on the offensive side of the floor either, leading the team with his 18.1 points per game with an efficient 57.5% eFG rate. His five assists per game were also the most of any first-team player.
Simonson became the ninth player in Red Rock Conference history to top 1,000 rebounds in a career. He also finished his prep career with over 1,000 points and set Red Rock Central's rebounding record.
Junior guards Alex Franson of Marshall and Hudsen Jeniguez of Westbrook-Walnut Grove were also each named to the All-Area second team.
Geniguez's 21.6 points per game on 46.4% eFG percentage was second only to Boik and Smith among area players. He also averaged a double-double, adding 10.5 rebounds per game. Defensively he averaged 1 block and 2 steals.
Franson led the Marshall Tigers with 51.8% eFG shooting and 18.4 points per game. His 3.2 stolen bases per game were also the most among all-area honorees.
