The Barnesville Trojan’s Hunter Zenzen broke his school’s career rebounding record with his ninth rebound of the game and they dominated the second half on the way to an 80-51 victory over the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team in a Section 8AA game played in Crookston.
FIRST HALF –
Crookston started the game by winning the tip and scoring the first four points of the game with two free throws from Jack Garmen and a basket from Jacob Hesby. Barnesville answered with back-to-back three-pointers from Logan Ernst and Tate Inniger for a 6-4 lead. Crookston tied the game at six with a Hesby basket and after two Barnesville free throws, Hesby buried a three-pointer for a 9-8 lead. Barnesville’s Kaden ZenZen (an NDSU football recruit) scored before Crookston’s Hesby answered with another basket to give the Pirates an 11-10 lead with 12 minutes left in the half. Hesby had nine of the Pirate’s 11 points. “He came out shooting well,” said Pirate Coach Greg Garmen. “He was aggressive and was getting some rebounds for us and did a nice job, especially early.” Barnesville answered with four straight points before Hunter Nicholas made a three-pointer to tie the game at 14. Barnesville responded with a 7-0 run and continued to build on their lead and had a 26-18 lead with 6:05 left in the half. Crookston’s Ryan Abeld made a three-pointer, followed by a Reggie Winjum layup, and a Haden Michaelson free throw to get within a 26-24 deficit with four minutes left. Barnesville dominated the rest of the half and finished on a 12-3 run while turning Pirate turnovers into points for a 28-27 lead at halftime. “That late run hurt us,” said Coach Garmen. “We turned the ball over too many times late and that seemed to get them going at the end of the half.”
SECOND HALF –
Haden Michaelson made a three-pointer to start the second half, but Barnesville answered with five straight points for a 43-30 lead. Crookston’s Hesby answered with a basket and Jack Garmen made a three-pointer to get within eight points (43-35) with less than 13 minutes remaining in the game. Crookston started to have unforced turnovers, including dribbling off their feet and legs and Barnesville jumped all over them by ending the game on a 37-16 run to win 80-51. Barnesville also had another highlight in the second half when Kaden Zenzen grabbed his ninth rebound to break the Barnesville school record with his 620th career rebound. “We didn’t have an answer inside for Barnesville,” said Coach Garmen. “I thought the boys played hard and rebounded well, especially Hesby. We have some good things to take away and are starting to buy in a little more and that is good. We are getting better and will have to keep working hard in practice.”
Crookston drops to 2-12 on the year and will host Climax-Fisher on Thursday, you can hear the game on KROX Radio and you can watch the game on the KROX livestream. Barnesville improves to 9-4 on the year.
1st | 2nd | Final | |
Barnesville | 38 | 42 | 80 |
CROOKSTON | 27 | 24 | 51 |
For CROOKSTON | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
Jacob Hesby | 18 | 9 | 2 assists |
Jack Garmen | 14 | 6 | 2 assists/2 steals |
Haden Michaelson | 8 | 3 | |
Hunter Nicholas | 5 | 3 | |
Ryan Abeld | 4 | 6 | |
Reggie Winjum | 2 |
For Barnesville | Points |
Tate Inniger | 16 |
Ryan Rustad | 14 |
Wyatt Suter | 12 |
Cameron Heng | 9 |
Logan Ernst | 8 |
Kaden Zenzen | 8 |
Noah Krause | 6 |
Braeden Bredman | 5 |
Owen Riddle | 2 |