Prep Athletes of the Week: For Hastings basketball player Owen Bernatz, an 'absurd' half to remember fully

Bernatz found out what it's like to be in a zone.

The senior guard scored 32 of his career-high 36 points in the first half Friday, leading Hastings to an 89-60 victory over Blake in the semifinals of the Red Wing Tip-Off Classic. The Raiders went on to win the two-day event with a 92-64 triumph over host Red Wing.

"That first half was absurd," said Bernatz, whose previous best was a 29-point performance. "Everything I threw up was going in."

Bernatz followed it up with a 17-point game in the finals. He played sparingly in the second half of both victories.

"We have a lot of guys who can score," said Bernatz, who also had five steals, five assists and four rebounds against Blake. "I trust my teammates to score the rock as well. If we distribute the ball to each other, we will have a successful season."

The Raiders suffered through a 7-20 season in 2022-23. Bernatz expects better this season.

"We are a really close and experienced team," he said. "When we move the ball I don't think anybody will stop us. Winning the first two games this year was important for us. It will give us confidence."

The 2014-15 season serves as a reminder. Hastings won a school-record 21 games that season, losing to Lakeville North in the Class 4A, Section 1 championship. The Raiders were coming off a 7-20 season the previous year.

"There are a lot of similarities," Bernatz said. "After last season, we talked exactly about that. We would like to set the record for school wins. Hopefully, it will go as planned."

Zhan has picked up right where she left off last season. The Pioneers, ranked third in Class 2A by Let's Play Hockey, have opened the season with six consecutive victories with Zhan in goal. Zahn, committed to Dartmouth for college, made 28 saves in a 2-1 victory over No. 2 Edina and has turned aside 98 of the 101 shots she has faced this season.

Chavis showed in the Pirates' season opener what to expect from him in his final season. A 6-4 senior guard committed to Washington for college, he had 23 points, 10 assists, six steals and five rebounds in a 90-43 triumph over St. Louis Park. Park Center is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A by Minnesota Basketball News.

A sharpshooting senior guard committed to South Florida, Thompson scored 38 points in a 70-60 victory over Eagan and is averaging 31 points per game. "Amy is an amazing shooter that has a very quick release and deadeye accuracy," Ponies coach Tim Peper said. "She is extremely skilled, and it was built by many, many unseen hours in the gym."

The sophomore forward has made a quick impact for the Royals, ranked fourth in Class 2A. Bumgarner scored four goals in a 6-2 victory over Moorhead and had one goal, the game-winner, and one assist in a 4-2 triumph over St. Thomas Academy. "He is off to a rocking start this season," Rogers coach Dave Brown said. "He is an offensive game-changer and will only get stronger."

The 5-7 junior guard put it in another gear after the Islanders suffered back-to-back losses to top-10 teams. Scott scored a career-high 36 points, leading Class 3A, No. 4 DeLaSalle past No. 1 Alexandria 74-64. She was limited to a total of 32 points in setbacks to Class 2A, No. 4 Minnehaha Academy (61-58) and Class 4A, No. 2 Hopkins (68-55).

Kruse won all three of his matches with first-period pins, helping the Eagles win the Ken Droegemueller Invitational in Osseo. Ranked No. 1 among 220-pounders in Class 2A by The Guillotine, he took first place in the NHSCA Junior Nationals and USA Junior Folkstyle Nationals in the offseason. "Cy is an outstanding student [4.2 GPA] and leader of our team," Eagles coach Doug Svihel said. "He has put in a ton of work throughout the year."

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