The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team had a great first half and senior post, Hunter Nicholas made two free throws to become the Pirate Boys Basketball all-time leading scorer as they held on to beat the Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal Titans at the Crookston High School gymnasium. The Pirates celebrated senior night and parents’ night.
FIRST HALF –
The game was tied at 2-2 over two minutes into the game when Crookston went on a 13-0 run. The run started with a Hunter Nicholas three-pointer. Jack Everett followed with a three-pointer. Nicholas scored another basket before Contreras made a shot and Michael Deng made a three-pointer for a 15-2 lead with 11:33 left in the half. NCE/UH finally made their second basket when Bryce Braseth scored, but Crookston’s Tyler Michaelson buried a three-pointer from the corner for an 18-4 lead. NCE/UH’s Axel Kjono hit back-to-back three-pointer to get within an 18-10 deficit with 7:59 to go. Crookston led 22-13 when they went on an 11-0 run with Matt Contreras scoring four points, Everett had a three-pointer and Nicholas was fouled after Everett’s shot and was awarded free throws in the bonus. Nicholas made both free throws with the first free throw breaking the Pirate Boys Basketball Career scoring record. Kenley Wahlin (2001-2005) scored 1,438 points and with the free throw, Nicholas passed Wahlin with 1,439 to become the new all-time Pirate Boys Basketball scorer. Nicholas added another basket ant the teams exchanged baskets in the final two minutes and Crookston took a 35-17 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
NCE/UH started the second half on a 6-0 run and showed Crookston the Titans weren’t going down without a fight. Crookston’s Nicholas responded with a 6-1 run by himself for a 41-24 lead over four minutes into the half. Five minutes later, Crookston had a 54-36 lead after a 7-0 run with five points from Michaelson and a basket by Everett. NCE/UH battled back and took advantage of a bunch of Pirate turnovers to get within a 55-50 deficit with 5:39 remaining. Crookston’s Zachariah Ali made a big three-pointer before the Titans responded with four straight points. Crookston continued to make big plays when they had to. Contreras and Nicholas made back-to-back baskets for a 65-56 lead. NCE/UH answered with a 5-1 run to get within a 66-61 deficit when Crookston’s Contreras made one free throw for a 68-61 lead with 31 seconds to go. Crookston held on to win 69-63 for their third win in a row.
Crookston improves to 8-16 on the year and will travel to Bagley on Thursday. NCE/UH ends the regular season with a 12-14 record.
JV-NCE/UH won 60-44 C-Squad-NCE/UH 77-45
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| NCE/UH | 17 | 46 | 63 |
| Crookston | 35 | 34 | 69 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Steal/Assists |
| Hunter Nicholas | 24 | 10 | 1 steal/2 assists/1 block |
| Matt Contreras | 18 | 5 | |
| Tyler Michaelson | 10 | 3 | 4 steals |
| Micheal Deng | 8 | 5 | 2 steals/1 assist |
| Jack Everett | 6 | 4 | 2 assists/2 steals |
| Zachariah Ali | 3 | 3 |
| For NCE/UH | Points |
| Bryce Braseth | 16 |
| Ian Jacobson | 15 |
| Axel Kjono | 14 |
| Will Jirik | 7 |
| Brock Fox | 5 |
| Asher Flaten | 4 |
| Maverick Pinske | 2 |
