The Crookston Pirate Boys’ Basketball team came up empty on 11 straight second-half possessions and that allowed the Warren-Alvarado-Oslo Ponies to pull away for a 77-57 victory in a game played at the Crookston High School Gymnasium.
FIRST HALF –
The start of the game was a back-and-forth battle. WAO’s Derek Moehrle started the scoring with a three-pointer before Crookston’s Hunter Nicholas and Reggie Winjum answered with baskets to give the Pirates a 4-3 lead. WAO’s Sebastain Johnson gave the Ponies the lead with a basket, only to have Crookston’s Nicholas grabbed an offensive rebound and scored for a 6-5 lead.
WAO responded with a Moehrle three-pointer and a Kaden Pierce basket. After a Crookston three-pointer from Nicholas, the Ponies’ Moehrle added another three-pointer, his third of the game for a 13-9 lead with 12:40 remaining in the half. Crookston tied the game with baskets from Michael Deng and Tyler Michaelson. After a Pony free throw, Crookston’s Matthew Contreras hit a baseline runner for a 15-14 lead. The teams exchanged the lead on the next two possessions before the game was tied at 17 and again at 19. Crookston took the lead on a Rylan Lubarski free throw before the Ponies rattled off five straight points for a 24-20 lead. Crookston’s Winjum made a basket to bring the Pirates within a 24-20 deficit with 6:20 left in the half.
Crookston committed their 10th foul of the half with 6:14 to go in the half, and that sent the Ponies to the free throw line, and Ethan Ellerbusch made two free throws before Pierce scored five straight points for a 31-22 lead. Crookston’s Winjum made a basket before Pierce added a three-pointer. Crookston’s Nicholas made a three-pointer only to have Pierce make another basket. The teams exchanged baskets in the final minutes and WAO took a 40-32 lead into halftime.
SECOND HALF –
Crookston started the second half with a Nicholas basket before Moerhle scored four points for a 44-34 lead, their first double-digit lead of the game. Crookston’s Zachariah Ali made a jump shot before the ponies responded with a 9-0 run, with Johnson scoring five points, Noah Sedlacek adding a basket, and Moerhle adding a basket for a 53-36 lead with 13 minutes left in the game. Crookston’s Nicholas stopped the Pony run with six straight points to bring the Pirates within a 53-42 deficit. Crookston chipped away at the deficit and trailed 60-46 with 8:29 left in the game, but their offense came up empty on the next 11 possessions, and that allowed the Ponies to go on a 7-0 run for a 67-46 lead. WAO held on the rest of the way for a 77-57 victory.
Crookston drops to 2-5 on the season and will host the Hawley Nuggets on Monday. WAO improves to 7-4 on the year and will travel to Red Lake County (Oklee) on Friday for a big Section 8A matchup.
J.V. – WAO won 52-44 C Squad – Crookston won 43-42
| 1st | 2nd | Final | |
| Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | 40 | 37 | 77 |
| Crookston | 32 | 25 | 57 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebounds | Steal/Assists |
| Hunter Nicholas | 30 | 11 | 2 assists |
| Reggie Winjum | 10 | 4 | 8 assists/2 steals |
| Tyler Michaelson | 7 | 2 | |
| Jack Everett | 3 | 7 | 1 assist |
| Zachariah Ali | 2 | 1 | |
| Matt Contreras | 2 | ||
| Michael Deng | 2 | 3 | 1 steal |
| Rylan Lubarski | 1 | 1 |
| For Warren-Alvarado-Oslo | Points | Rebounds | Assists/Steals |
| Derek Moehrle | 20 | 10 | 2 assists/1 steal/1 block |
| Kaden Pierce | 20 | 4 | 1 steal |
| Kyden Kotrba | 14 | 6 | 4 assists/2 blocks |
| Sebastian Johnson | 11 | 10 | 3 steals |
| Ethan Ellerbusch | 5 | ||
| Noah Sedlacek | 4 | 3 | 1 assist/1 block |
| Noah Dvorak | 2 | 4 | 1 block |
| Sidney Carlson | 1 | 1 |
