×

Cotter Boys Steal Win in Lewiston as they Look to Turn the Tides on Their Season, Other Area Scores

By Jake Litman Jan 8, 2025 | 10:49 AM

Markus Spiske via Unsplash

(KWMN)- In a barn burner from Lewiston-Altura high school, seniors Carson Roeder and Jayden Konter combined for 26 points, and Mateo Lopez scored a runner with 15 seconds left to lead the Rambler Boys over the Cardinals, 54-50 to improve to 3-8.

“We haven’t had those kinds of wins; we’ve lost some of those.” Head Coach, Mike Costello said after the game. “We needed one. While we had some errors down the stretch, we made a couple of key plays. Thought we scrapped pretty well all night”

Cotter controlled most of the game, leading by as many as 12 points in the second half. Lewiston-Altura was able to stay in it, though, chipping away at the lead until finally tying the game up at 50 points apiece with under a minute to play.

Off a press-break, Roeder took a pass from John Gibson and lasered it to the far side of the court, where Mateo Lopez was running onto it. Lopez hit a tough floater to give Cotter a 52-50 lead with under 15 seconds to play. Lewiston’s next possession ended with a missed shot, where Gibson grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Gibson hit both of his free throws to ice the game.

“We said if you have something good, go for it, otherwise we had a play set up, but I love that he went and attacked and made that tough little runner,” Costello said of the game winning play.

Cotter lost what was at one point a 12-point lead in the second half. It was beginning to foreshadow an outcome they’ve seen much of to start this season. Having a lead, seeing it dwindle, and lose a close one in the end. They’ve struggled in the close one’s all season. In their eight losses, only two of them have been by double-digits. Finally, that trend broke last night.

“We loved the way they fought, even though we had some struggles, some things we can learn from,” Costello said, “We loved the effort, and that they came in and made a few plays [at the end].”

Not only they defeated some demons from the early portion of this season, finally coming away with a close win. They also avenged two overtime losses from last season to Lewiston-Altura. Proving that this team has grown, regardless of losing two of their leading scorers from last season.

Losing the likes of Gabe Stewart and Luke Gardner has proved to be a challenge for the offense, yet the defense and rebounding were key in the Cotter victory last night. It’s something that they’ll have to hang their hats on all season long. Lewiston entered the matchup last night scoring 73.9 per game, Cotter held them to just 50–their lowest point total of the season.

Costello knows both defense and rebounding will be important for them, especially in a section that is up for grabs,

“I think we know that there’s a few teams in our section that are tough, but if we play like that, we can beat anyone.”

Cotter moves to 3-8, a record that doesn’t accentuate that talent they have, but one they’re stuck with regardless. They’ll face Chatfield on Thursday, hoping to stack some wins together.

Other Area Scores 

Rushford-Peterson Boys (9-1) 78-47 P.E.M. (4-8)

Cotter Girls (8-5) 76-29 Lewiston-Altura (6-8)

Rushford-Peterson Girls (7-3) 68-56 P.E.M. (7-5)

FOLLOW US FOR INSTANT UPDATES!

Activity Stream

KWNO RADIOMar 26, 2025
open lightbox
A portion of West Broadway in Winona will be closing for about seven months. The closure starts April 7 and is part of the West Broadway Reconstruction project. According to the Office of Public Works, West Broadway will be closed to traffic from Hilbert Street to the railroad tracks between Jackson Street and South Baker Street. Vehicles westbound on Broadway are urged to turn off at South Baker to avoid having to turnaround near the tracks. Eastbound vehicles are recommended to turn off Broadway on Lee or Bierce Streets as the Hilbert Street intersection will be closed. A truck detour is planned on 5th Street. The closure is expected to last through October.
KWNO RADIOMar 21, 2025
Winona Police on Thursday afternoon responded to reports of a person being shot in the arm. Officers arrived in the 550 block of Mankato Avenue and found a man who had been shot in the arm with a pellet gun. He was alert and conscious and subsequently taken Winona Health for treatment. Around 5:00 law enforcement arrested 35-year-old John Edward Mullen at a residence on East 11th Street. In the home officers found several pellet guns. Mullen will be referred to the Winona County Attorney's Office for second-degree assault.
KWNO RADIOMar 18, 2025
Winona Police have arrested a 17-year-old boy who allegedly shot another teenager in the eye with a BB gun. According to a WPD spokesperson, officers made the arrest Monday afternoon at a residence in the 150 block of East 8th Street. The boy did live there and was possibly hiding out from police. He's charged with second-degree assault and threats of violence. Investigators say last Saturday a group of teenagers was hanging out in the playground area at the old Madison School. A confrontation arose and the boy shot the girl in the eye with the BB gun from "two to three steps away." The spokesperson said the victim does not appear to be seriously injured as she was struck in the eyelid, and the BB did not puncture the eye.