Photo by Samantha Davis. Minneota's Easton Johnston makes a 3-pointer in the second half against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda Friday evening in the Candy Cane Classic Tournament at Minneota High School. Johnston finished with 17 points in the Vikings' 76-44 victory.

MINNEOTA — The Minneota boys basketball team capitalized on Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda’s 30 turnovers Friday night for a 76-44 win Friday evening in its home opener. Lucas Rybinski led the Vikings’ 11 scorers with 19 points, going 4 for 6 from the 3-point line.

“I was pretty happy with things. We did not get a chance to watch Heron play a lot, but we were sticking with what we’re doing and trying to get after people,” Minneota head coach Chad Johnston said. “I thought we looked good at times. We’re still trying to figure some things out.”

In addition to Rybinski, who also had five steals, Easton Johnston added 17 points and shot 3 for 5 from the arc. Kyson Arndt had a team-high seven rebounds, and Carson Javers served three assists. Overall, Minneota shot 35.4% from the field and 33.3% from the 3-point line.

Minneota established dominance from the jump, and put the game away behind solid ball movement, a strong full-court press and cohesive zone defense.

“We’re going to try to play with a lot of kids. The best way to play a lot of kids is to play fast both offensively and defensively,” coach Johnston said. “Our goal is, in some of these teams that we don’t feel like maybe their bench is as deep, we can try to maybe wind them down in the second half. That’s what we’re really trying to do.”

The Vikings fell to Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in the season opener 92-67 on Dec. 6, but responded with a 79-39 statement over Yellow Medicine East on Monday earlier this week.

HLOF entered Friday 2-1 on the season and took down Red Rock Central 60-48 on Tuesday.

Minneota took control of the court early on in the first half, and never lost sight of its double digit lead once obtained. The Vikings came out with efficient shooting and forced turnovers with its full-court press, which they kept through a majority of the game.

The first two minutes of the game were scoreless, until HLOF hit a 3-pointer from the wing.

But, Rybinski responded with a 3 of his own from the top of the key and continued his hot hand. He had 5 of Minneota’s first 7 points.

Minneota’s full-court press was effective from the jump, earning a steal and putting pressure on the Coyotes who struggled with finding an answer.

Johnston hit a 3-pointer from the right wing to create a 19-14 Vikings lead, and again got a steal back from the press.

Once the momentum started, it didn’t stop.

Tate Peterson then sank a 3 as a foul was called for holding on another player, and gave Minneota an inbound play.

Rybinski created a 17-point lead at 30-13 after hitting another shot from the arc.

Minneota built up its confidence with an all-around offensive team effort. Lincoln Jerzak missed a layup on transition, but was tipped in by Johnston as the half was closing.

Rybinski had 13 points as Minneota headed into the locker room with a comfortable 36-23 advantage.

Minneota didn’t slow down coming back out of the locker room, and went on a 14-3 run to extend to a 50-26 lead in the first five minutes of the second half.

“Our focus at halftime was, let’s not allow a run again, and let’s try to keep that separation and build on it, “ coach Johnston said. “Obviously, our guys did a lot of good things.”

The press continued to serve the Vikings well, and was the key factor in maintaining control of the game.

Minneota went into zone defense in the second half as well.

“We’re working on things, nothing was ever perfect by any means, but I thought we did a pretty good job of communicating really well. We’re getting better at that,” coach Johnston said.

A pair of 3-pointers from Johnston, who became an offensive spark in the second half, kept the Minneota energy high.

The Vikings notched their 30 point lead at 63-33 after Creed Stassen grabbed a defensive board off a 3-point attempt from Jerzak and put it back.

The remainder of the game was a shut out, and everyone got a chance to play as coaches were experimenting with a few different rotations.

“It’s been a few games now. We got some turnovers tonight, we got some touches, but we got the things that we wanted,” coach Johnston said. “I think now this is our second game where we’re seeing a little bit more separation in the second half.”

Minneota, 2-1, will quickly return back on the court today to host Westbrook-Walnut Grove 4-1at 3 p.m. in the second day of the Candy Cane Classic weekend tournament. The Chargers defeated Lakeview 70-61 Friday night, and will be playing their third game in three days when it faces the Vikings.

“[WWG is] a good shooting team. We don’t want to get lost as we’re trying to put pressure on them,” Johnston said. “Tomorrow’s going to be a really good test for us to see where we are at.”