#7 RANKED PERHAM SCORES 51 IN FIRST HALF TO BEAT CROOKSTON BOYS BASKETBALL

The Perham Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 19-2 lead to start the game and cruised the rest of the way for a 75-41 victory over the Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team in a Section 8AA match-up played in Perham.

FIRST HALF –
Perham scored the first 14 points of the game with senior guard Charlie Rasmussen and junior post player Finn Diggins leading the way. Crookston finally scored a little under four minutes into the game when Caden Osborn scored in the paint, but Perham’s Diggins answered with a one-hand slam dunk, and Elijah Morris buried a three-pointer for a 19-2 lead with 10:22 left in the half. “That was a tough start,” said Pirate Coach Greg Garmen. “They attacked our defense, and Rasmussen and Diggins are a tough pair to keep in check.” Jack Garmen was left open in the corner and made a three-pointer, but Perham answered with five straight points for a 24-5 lead. Crookston finally got the offense going with a 7-0 run with an Easton Tangquist basket, another Garmen three-pointer, and a Walker Winjum basket, and the Pirates trailed 24-12 halfway through the half. Perham continued to shoot well and made nine three-pointers in the first half and outscored Crookston 27-9 the rest of the half for a 51-21 lead. “They came out, and the shot the ball well,” said Coach Garmen. “We knew they could shoot, but they moved the ball well and were able to find the open guy. We struggled taking care of the ball because they are so athletic, and that caused a lot of problems for us tonight.”

SECOND HALF –
Crookston had a much better start to the second half with a Jack Garmen three-pointer and a Caden Osborn basket to get within a 51-26 deficit, but Perham responded with eight straight points. The teams played even the rest of the way, and Perham hit a three-pointer with 8:33 left in the game for a 72-35 lead. It was this point in the game when the clock went into running time, and Perham went deep into the bench. Crookston outscored Perham 6-3 in the final eight minutes, and the Yellow Jackets won the game 75-41. “It was a tough game,” said Coach Garmen. “Perham is an excellent team with a lot of guys. We came out better in the second half and were more aggressive and took better care of the ball, which helped. It was good to see a team like this early in the season, so we know where we need to be.”

Crookston drops to 1-3 on the year and will travel to Thief River Falls on Saturday evening. Perham improves to 3-0 on the year.