The Perham Yellowjackets Cypress Thiel made eight three-pointers, and the team made a total of 14 to beat the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team 96-68 in the first round of the Section 8AA Boys Basketball tournament at the Perham High School gymnasium.
FIRST HALF–
The game was tied at 2-2 in the first minute of the game before Perham went on a 9-0 run with three three-pointers from Cypress Thiel for an 11-2 lead over three minutes into the game. Crookston answered with a 9-0 run with five points from Reggie Winjum and four points from Nolan Johnson to tie the game at 11 with 12:17 left in the half. They say basketball is a game of runs, and it was throughout the half as Perham answered with a 13-0 run for a 24-11 lead halfway through the half. Crookston stopped the run with a Winjum free throw and a Carter Fee steal and layup. After five Perham points, Crookston’s Fee countered with five straight points to bring the Pirates within a 29-19 deficit. The teams exchanged baskets, and Crookston’s Winjum made a three-pointer to get his team within nine points (33-24) with over four minutes to go in the half. Perham ended the half on a 12-4 run to take a 45-28 lead going into halftime.
SECOND HALF–
The red-hot shooting for Perham continued as Thiel started the second half with a three-pointer. Crookston’s Gunnar Groven answered with a three-pointer, and the back and forth continued. Crookston’s Winjum grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to bring the Pirates within a 54-37 deficit four minutes into the half. Perham had a 66-44 lead when they stole the ball and then tried to do a pass off the backboard for a dunk on a breakaway, but the dunk was missed, and Perham was called for a technical foul for hanging on the rim (the third missed dunk attempt by Perham in the game). Crookston’s Winjum made the technical foul free throws before the Yellowjackets scored four points. Winjum answered with a basket, and after another Perham basket, Nolan Cassavant made a three-pointer from the sideline, and Johnson made two free throws to get within a 72-53 deficit with eight minutes left. Perham put any thoughts of a Pirate comeback away over the next couple of minutes as they went on a 9-2 run to take an 81-53 lead. Crookston’s Fee got the hot hand and made three three-pointers over 90 90-second span to get the Pirates within an 83-64 deficit with four minutes to go. Perham held on the rest of the way and won the game 96-68.
Crookston’s season ends with a 5-19 record, and they say goodbye to the following seniors: Reggie Winjum, Carter Fee, Gunnar Groven, Nolan Cassavant, and Josh Hesby. Perham improves to 15-12 on the year and will play at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton on Saturday in the Section 8AA quarterfinals.
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Crookston | 28 | 40 | 68 |
| Perham | 45 | 51 | 96 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Misc. |
| Carter Fee | 23 | 5 | 4 assists/4 steals |
| Reggie Winjum | 21 | 4 | 2 steals/2 assists |
| Nolan Johnson | 14 | 9 | 2 assists/1 steal |
| Gunnar Groven | 5 | 2 | 2 assists/1 steal |
| Nolan Cassavant | 3 | 4 | 2 assists |
| Beau Smith | 2 | 1 block/1 steal |
| For Perham | Points |
| Cypress Thiel | 29 |
| Isaiah Farrell | 25 |
| Tate Zacharias | 10 |
| Kade Raser | 8 |
| Sam Dale | 6 |
| Nathan Rustad | 5 |
| Micah Leonhard | 5 |
| Jayden Bormann | 3 |
| Bradyn Anderson | 2 |
| Dominik Reyes | 2 |
