The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball team had a costly turnover towards the end of regulation and had another turnover late in overtime. Crookston still had a shot at the buzzer and missed wide left as the Thief River Falls Prowlers held on for a 68-67 overtime victory in a Section 8AA matchup played at the Ralph Englestad Arena in Thief River Falls.
FIRST HALF
Thief River Falls scored the first point of the game on a Storm Manning free throw before Crookston responded with a Caden Osborn offensive rebound and putback and a Carter Bruggeman steal and layup for a 4-1 lead a minute into the game. The teams exchanged baskets, and they were tied at 4, 6, and 10 before Thief River Falls made back-to-back three-pointers for a 16-10 lead with 10 minutes left in the half. The Prowlers slowly built a 24-15 lead with 5:08 to go in the half before Crookston’s Osborn scored in the paint, Bruggeman converted a three-point play and Osborn grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to bring the Pirates within a 24-22 deficit. Thief River Falls took a 29-26 lead into halftime. “It was nice to see us cut it to three points at halftime,” said Coach Garmen. “The kids made some plays, and we had all seven of them chipping in with some nice play.”
SECOND HALF –
Thief River Falls scored the first four points of the half, only to have Crookston answer with eight straight points with an Easton Tangquist three-pointer, an Osborn basket, and a Walker Winjum three-pointer for a 34-33 lead, the first Pirate lead since they led 10-8 in the first half. “We got in a little bit of rhythm there, and that was good to see,” said Coach Garmen. “We made some nice plays on offense and defense.” The team had five lead changes and six ties over the next 10 minutes, and with 2:07 left in the game, they were tied at 57. Thief River Falls’ Storm Manning made a three-pointer before Crookston’s Bruggeman made two free throws. Thief River Falls turned the ball over with one minute left in the game before Bruggeman drove the lane and bounced a pass to Winjum for a layup to give the Pirates a 61-60 lead. “Carter had a nice drive and great pass,” said Coach Garmen. “Walker made a nice cut, and he finished. It was a nice play.” Thief River Falls made one of two free throws with about 12 seconds left, and Crookston turned the ball over with 6.5 seconds left in regulation. Thief River Falls got a shot off at the buzzer, but it was short, and the game was tied at 61-61 at the end of regulation, forcing overtime. “We drew up a play to have Caden work at the top of the key,” said Coach Garmen. “That didn’t work, so we tried to get a pass to a cutter, and it went off his fingertips and came up a little short.”
OVERTIME-
Crookston won the tip to start overtime, and Tangquist made two free throws for a 63-61 lead 47 seconds into the extra session. Thief River Falls answered with another Storm Manning three-pointer and a Jack Manning basket for a 66-63 lead halfway through overtime. The Prowlers had a chance to expand their lead but missed two free throws, and Crookston took advantage with an Osborn basket in the paint to get within a 66-65 deficit. Thief River Falls added a basket before Winjum scored with 30 seconds left in overtime, and Crookston trailed 68-67. With 5.6 seconds left, Thief River Falls missed two more free throws, and Crookston grabbed the rebound and sped up the floor, and Tangquist’s three-pointer was off the mark, and the Prowlers held on to win 68-67 in overtime. “We saw some good things today and played a pretty good game,” said Coach Garmen. “We had a shot at the end and didn’t get it. The game will help us, and they played hard and made some good plays. It was a good high school basketball game.”
Crookston drops to 1-4 on the year and will travel to Fosston on Tuesday. Thief River Falls improves to 4-1 on the year.
J.V. – TRF won 71-56 C Squad – TRF won 71-39
| 1st | 2nd | OT | Final | |
| CROOKSTON | 26 | 35 | 6 | 67 |
| TRF | 29 | 32 | 7 | 68 |
| For Crookston | Points | Rebound | Steals/Assists |
| Caden Osborn | 21 | 19 | 2 blocks |
| Walker Winjum | 16 | 5 | 2 steals |
| Carter Bruggeman | 14 | 3 | 2 assists/2 steals |
| Easton Tangquist | 7 | 7 | 2 steals |
| Jack Garmen | 5 | 3 | |
| Brady Butt | 5 | 3 |
| For Thief River Falls | Points |
| Storm Manning | 20 |
| Brevyn Lingen | 17 |
| Jack Manning | 16 |
| Gunner Zutz | 6 |
| Zach Praska | 4 |
| Corbin Kruckeberg | 3 |
| Gunnar Aune | 2 |
