BAGLEY FLYERS USE STRONG SECOND HALF TO BEAT PIRATE BOY’S BASKETBALL

The Bagley Flyers used a strong second half to pull away for a 77-60 victory over the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team in a Section 8AA game played at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.

FIRST HALF –
Crookston opened the scoring as Jack Garmen made a three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Pirates a 3-0 lead. Bagley answered with lay-ups by Justus Brtek and Cole Derby putting the Flyers in front 4-3. Walker Winjum made a free-throw tying the game at 4-4 before Bagley added two more scores in the paint to take an 8-4 lead. Caden Osborn sank a free-throw trimming Crookston’s deficit to 8-5, but Alec Norum buried a triple at the other end, boosting the visitor’s advantage to 11-5. Carter Bruggeman converted a lay-up through a foul bringing the Pirates within 11-7, but Kenly Gordon out hustled Crookston’s defense off a missed free-throw for an easy lay-in allowing Bagley’s lead to grow to 13-7. After a Cole Derby basket at the rim, Caden Osborn socred under the basket at the other end, trimming the Pirates’ deficit down to 15-9. Easton Tangquist made a nice runner from the right side of the lane as Crookston closed the gap down to 15-11. Bagley got hot from beyond the three-point line halfway through the first half. Alec Norum buried a three-pointer giving the visitors a 27-21 lead. After Carter Bruggeman pulled the Pirates within 27-22 after a free-throw, Justus Brtek knocked down a three-pointer pushing Bagley ahead 30-22.  Joseph Ramirez made a pair of free-throws trimming Crookston’s deficit down to 33-26. Easton Tangquist made a three-pointer as the Pirates made it a 35-29 game. Caden Osborn made a jump shot from the left elbow to make it a four-point game followed by a Bruggeman basket through a foul bringing Crookston within 37-35. Alec Norum scored a lay-up for the final points of the first half, giving Bagley a 39-35 halftime lead. “We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be coming out of the gates, but then we got going a little bit,” said Crookston head coach Greg Garmen. 

SECOND HALF –
Caden Osborn opened the second half with a lay-up plus the foul, making the free-throw bringing the Pirates within 39-38. Cole Derby used a personal 5-0 run, increasing the Flyers’ lead to 44-38. Caden Osborn scored his second basket of the second half trimming Crookston’s deficit down to 46-40, followed by a Carter Bruggeman lay-up to make it 46-42. Jaxsyn Lewis scored a lay-up regaining a 48-42 lead for the visitors. Another Lewis lay-up made it 51-44 before Lewis added his sixth straight point for the Flyers, giving Bagley a 53-44 lead. “This kind of got a little bit away from us,” said Garmen. “We couldn’t stop dribble penetration. We stopped moving our feet and being in a good spot that we needed to be. We’ve just got to do a better job of moving our feet and staying in front of them.” Zachary Anderson added to the run with another lay-up before Kenly Gordon banked in a three-pointer boosting Bagley’s lead to 58-44. The Flyers continued to pull away the rest of the night. After a Caden Osborn lay-up pulled Crookston within 68-60, but Bagley proved too much as the visitors pulled away late for a 77-60 win. “It was disappointing after a really good effort last night,” noted Garmen. “We’ve got a lot of season left, so we need to get back to it tomorrow and get a practice in. We were forcing some stuff as the game went on, and I was waiting for a bucket to get a timeout, and that bucket just never came. When shots aren’t going, it just turns out to be this kind of night.”

Crookston falls to 0-2. The Pirates return to the court on Friday when they travel north to Warroad, taking on the Warriors at 7:30 P.M. Bagley improves to 1-0.