ABOVE: Fairmont's Hadan Toomer drives across the baseline looking for an opening in a Big South Conference boys basketball game Tuesday night in Fairmont.

FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Cardinals kept the New Ulm Eagles at arm’s length on Tuesday night, securing a 6-point win 64-58 in a Big South Conference boys basketball game.

“I’ve watched every game New Ulm’s played,” said Fairmont boys basketball head coach Jared Thompson. “They never quit. They keep battling. They’ve got a lot of really young, talented players. So we knew even when we got up 10, 15 … they were not going to quit.”

Leading the Cardinals was Oliver Tordsen with 28 points, eight rebounds and six blocks, while Logan Junkermeier had 27 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks.

“We did a good job,” said Thompson. “Our two bigs were a big impact on the game – 28 points, 27 points between the two … But our guards had to handle a lot of really, really aggressive defensive pressure from their guards.”

The Cardinals did not dwell on mistakes, making sure to correct the error or capitalize on the next possession which played a key part in staying in front of the Eagles.

“We didn’t play perfect,” said Thompson. “But every time we made a mistake, we seemed to bounce back and make the next good play, the next right play. Especially our guards, you know, they would turn it over. Then the next play, they would make the correct play, hit an assist or hit a big shot and just kind of our ability to move on and be resilient is something I’m proud of tonight.”

The first half scoring was opened for the Cardinals by Junkermeier, who drew a foul and drained both free throws. New Ulm responded quickly with Nicholas Risen sinking a shot from behind the arc to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead. As the half went on, it became apparent that this would be a physical affair, with 11 minutes in the half Levi Hopp hit a 3-pointer to even out the scoreboard at 10-10 before an 8-0 run saw Fairmont pull out to an 18-10 lead. Hopp struck again from deep but Fairmont got an 11-0 run kicked off by Tordsen to bring its lead to 29-15. Each team put up 5 more points after that, with the Cardinals taking a 33-20 lead into the half.

The Eagles’ offense started the second half slow but were able to pull within 6 points, 46-40. The two bigs on the baseline for the Cardinals, Junkermeier and Tordsen, continued to make their presence felt below the basket, contesting every drive and shot that came in range and sinking their shots. With the score sitting at 52-42 with seven minutes left in the game, New Ulm began to chip away at the Cardinals’ lead, bringing it down to 4 points, 62-58, but the Cardinals hung on for the win.

The Cardinals’ next game is against Jackson County Central at 7:15 p.m. Friday at home.