Brainerd senior Eli Hoelz isn't just a passing fancy. He's a passer most of the school year.

Hoelz is averaging 11.5 assists per game for coach Charlie Schoeck's 4-4 squad, with a peak of 22 assists in a 100-69 victory over St. Cloud Apollo in December.

"That was one of the most impressive performances that I've seen on the basketball court," Schoeck said. "All night long, he seemed to have a sixth sense for not only where the open guy was going to be but also for which teammate was in rhythm and most likely to score. Not only was he finding the right guy, but every pass was on time and on target, leading to an easy catch-and-shoot opportunity."

It ties him for the No. 6 spot on Minnesota's boys single-game list. Martin Wind of Cass Lake-Bena holds the record, 28 assists in a 2008 game.

Mark Heiman of Ely holds the state record of 393 assists in a season (13.6 per game) set in 2014. He also had 22 assists in a game.

Hoelz was also the Warriors' football quarterback last season after playing wide receiver the previous two years. He completed 89 of 148 passes for 1,482 yards and 15 touchdowns.

"For Eli, playmaking comes naturally," Schoeck said. "He takes a lot of pride in setting his teammates up to succeed. You can see the traits that made him a great quarterback translate to the basketball court. He's the quarterback on the basketball court as well, using his court vision and anticipation to find the open guy or lead someone into an easy bucket."

Lighting it up

Chisholm senior Tresa Baumgard reached a milestone with authority.

Baumgard netted her 2,000th career point during a 56-point December performance as the Bluestreaks ran past Littlefork-Big Falls 111-28 in girls basketball. She is headed to Minnesota State Moorhead.

Chisholm is 9-1 but unranked in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Coaching milestone

Fertile-Beltrami boys basketball coach Neil Steffes added his 500th career victory when the Falcons knocked off Win-E-Mac 86-59 in their season opener. He is in his 31st season.

The Falcons (4-1) are unranked in Class 1A by Minnesota Basketball News.

Eyeing No. 800

Crosby-Ironton's Dave Galovich will try Friday, when his Rangers host Pillager, to become the fourth boys basketball coach to reach 800 career wins.

Galovich has a career record of 799-380. He is in his 46th season, having also coached at Erskine for four seasons and St. Michael-Albertville for three. The Rangers have four state tournament runner-up finishes under Galovich, most recently in 2017.

Crosby-Ironton is 8-0 but unranked in Class 2A. The Rangers' average margin of victory is nearly 30 points (79.8-50.4).

Chisholm's Bob McDonald is the state's all-time leader in boys basketball victories with a career record of 1,012-428. Ken Novak of Hopkins is second at 951-184, and Bob Brink of Rocori is third at 936-327.