Warner rebounded in multiple ways on Tuesday.

The Monarchs used a strong second-half surge to earn a come-from-behind 50-37 Lake Region Conference boys’ basketball win over Aberdeen Christian at the Aberdeen Civic Arena.

Warner coach Derek Hoellein said the team came into the matchup looking to improve after last Saturday’s season-opening loss to Webster.

“We came in tonight with a goal of having a little more urgency, especially doing the little things,” Hoellein said. “We got killed on the rebounds on Saturday, and if you look at our team, there shouldn’t be a way that we should get beat on the boards. We’ve got athletic guys, so we really wanted to make sure to take a concerted effort to really get after the boards and make things difficult defensively.”

Warner scored the first nine points of the contest as both squads struggled to make baskets throughout the opening quarter. The Knights’ first basket came late in the first quarter on a Becker Bosma 3-pointer, and despite trailing, the Knights climbed back into the contest, down only three after one quarter.

Bosma said the team was confident in its ability despite falling behind early.

“We all knew what we could do, and we did it in practice,” Bosma said. “We all knew what we were like, and then we just started doing it.”

Knights coach Aaron Moeller said he was not shocked by his team’s slow start.

“I wasn’t necessarily surprised by that,” Moeller said. “When you have a lot of youth and inexperience, that can sometimes happen. I felt like maybe the lights were a little bit bright, and playing in front of a crowd, and so, I think some of those first-game jitters, they didn’t surprise me in that first quarter.”

Christian battled back in the second quarter, outscoring the Monarchs 15-4, as Bosma hit two more 3-pointers, while Joey Johnson added another. Bosma banked in a three-pointer to end the half, giving the Knights a 23-15 lead, as well as adding momentum to their cause.

“I felt like we battled back,” Moeller said. “I felt like there was some really good defense, especially starting in that second quarter, and Becker got a little bit hot there, too.”

In the locker room, Warner senior Brodey Sauerwein said Hoellein reassured the players that they could rebound from the halftime deficit.

“He told us we’ve been in this situation before, and he thought that we definitely had the ability to beat these guys finally,” Sauerwein said. “We just had to clean up a few things and we did, and we came out with a lot of energy again.”

The energy was noticeable as the Monarchs erased the halftime deficit, tying the game at 27-27 on a pair of Hunter Cramer free throws, and outscoring the Knights 22-6 in the third quarter, taking a commanding lead into the final frame.

Hoellein said the minor halftime adjustments paid off in the second half.

“There were just some minor details of our offense of getting the ball in a position where we could feed the post, and then setting some better screens,” Hoellein said. “We did a really nice job of setting good screens and then picking and popping. And then Brodey hit some huge threes at the top, which was huge.”

Sauerwein, who finished with a game-high 18 points, added his third and final 3-pointer in the fourth quarter as the Monarchs pulled away for the victory. The senior was surprised at how effective his three-point shooting was.

“I just caught fire out of nowhere,” Sauerwein said. “I just shot with confidence and it went in.”

Bosma led Aberdeen Christian with 14 points and four 3-pointers. While the loss hurts to begin the season, Becker said it was exciting to be starting in his first varsity game along with four other first-time starters.

“It was definitely exciting,” Bosma said. “Pretty nervous, but I think God kept me calm, and the same with the other four.”

Moeller said the loss will sting, but emphasized moving on to the next challenge for the Knights, which will take place on Thursday at Leola-Frederick.

“I told them they have to erase this game pretty quickly,” Moeller said. “Like we have to move on from it. Let it sting a little bit, but then erase it, and by tomorrow get ready to prepare for Leola-Frederick.”

For the Monarchs, carrying the momentum into Saturday’s game at Potter County is what Hoellein stressed to his team.

“We’ve just got to carry it over,” Hoellein said. “We showed exactly what we can be as a basketball team, and now we set the bar high, we got to stick to it. We’ve got to stay to the grind. Every day we’ve got to have that intensity, that urgency moving forward and we’ll be alright.”

WARNER (1-1): Brodey Sauerwein 7 2-3 18, Hunter Cramer 2 3-4 7, Drew Bakeberg 2 2-2 5, Gavin Lane 1 0-0 2, Zachary Evans 8 0-0 17. Totals 20 5-9 50.

ABERDEEN CHRISTIAN (0-1): Becker Bosma 5 0-0 14, Konnar Furman 3 0-1 7, Joey Johnson 3 0-2 8, Luke Kaiser 1 0-0 2, Brooks Jett 3 0-0 6. Totals 15 0-3 37.

Warner 11 15 37 50

Aberdeen Christian 8 23 29 37

3-point field goals – Sauerwein (3), Bakeberg, Evans; Bosma (4), Johnson (2), Furman; Total fouls – Warner 9; Aberdeen Christian 16.