The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball led by 17 points early in the second half before trailing by three points late, but a 9-0 Reggie Winjum run solidified the Pirates’ first victory of the season as they held on to beat the Thief River Falls Prowlers 62-54 in a Section 8AA matchup at the Crookston High School gymnasium.
FIRST HALF –
Crookston built a 7-0 lead to start the game as Reggie Winjum made a basket, Carter Fee rattled home a three-pointer, and Nolan Johnson had a strong move in the paint for a basket and a 7-0 lead. TRF answered with five straight points with a Tucker Grindeland basket and a Jett Cornelius three-pointer. TRF took a timeout, and Crookston used it to regroup and go on a 9-0 run. Fee had a three-pointer, Johnson, Winjum, and Beau Smith had two points apiece to build a 16-5 lead with 9:39 left in the half. TRF’s Bridger Wilcox answered with four points, and the teams battled back and forth. With 2:30 to go in the half, Crookston led 24-17. Crookston finished the half on an 8-0 run with a Johnson basket, a Gunnar Groven three-pointer and with point-seven seconds remaining a three-point play from Winjum for a 32-17 lead going into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Crookston’s Groven scored the first basket of the second half, and the Pirates doubled up TRF 34-17. You figured it would come at some point, and it was less than a minute later when the Prowlers picked up their play, namely Wyatt Nelson, who scored nine straight points over a three-minute span, and Wilcox added a basket to cap an 11-0 run to get within a 34-28 deficit. The teams exchanged baskets, and TRF slowly continued to chip away at the deficit. Trailing 43-38 after a Pirate three-pointer by Fee with 10:56 remaining, the Prowlers went on a 7-0 run to take a 45-43 lead, the first lead of the game. Crookston’s Winjum tied the game at 45 with two free throws, only to have the Prowlers respond with three free throws for a 48-45 lead. TRF’s Dylan Osowski fouled out with 5:11 remaining, and Crookston’s Smith made two free throws. TRF’s Wilcox made a basket for a 50-47 lead with 4:50 to go. Things weren’t looking good for Crookston until Winjum took the game over. Reggie made a basket and followed with a three-pointer to give his team the lead 52-50. TRF’s Wilcox drove the lane on the ensuing possession, and Crookston’s Groven ripped the ball from his hands and stole the ball. Winjum followed with four more points to cap a 9-0 run over a three-minute span, and the Pirates led 56-50 with 1:20 remaining. TRF made four free throws only to have Crookston’s Fee make two free throws for a 58-54 lead with 39.7 seconds left.
TRF missed a shot, and Winjum was fouled and made one free throw for a 59-54 lead. TRF missed another shot, and Fee made one free throw for a 60-54 lead with 16.2 seconds remaining. After TRF came up empty again, as Nolan Cassavant stole the ball and got the ball to Winjum. Reggie went in for a layup to solidify the victory with a 62-54 final score.
Crookston improves to 1-12 on the year and will host Climax-Fisher on Friday. Thief River Falls drops to 7-7 on the year.
J.V. – TRF won 57-24 C Squad – Crookston won 61-48
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| TRF | 17 | 37 | 54 |
| Crookston | 32 | 30 | 62 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Misc. |
| Reggie Winjum | 27 | 11 | 5 assists/2 blocks |
| Carter Fee | 15 | 12 | |
| Beau Smith | 7 | 2 | 2 steals/2 assists |
| Gunnar Groven | 7 | 2 | 2 steals/2 assists |
| Nolan Johnson | 4 | 15 | 2 assists/2 blocks |
| Nolan Cassavant | 2 | 2 | 3 assists |
| For TRF | Points |
| Wyatt Nelson | 19 |
| Bridger Wilcox | 17 |
| Jett Cornelius | 7 |
| Tucker Grindeland | 4 |
| Connor Bruce | 4 |
| Lane Waldal | 2 |
| Dylan Osowski | 1 |
