THIEF RIVER FALLS DOUBLES UP CROOKSTON BOYS BASKETBALL

The Crookston Pirate Boys Basketball was outmatched by a bigger, and quicker, Thief River Falls Prowler team in a 68-34 loss at the Thief River Falls Lincoln High School gymnasium.  

FIRST HALF-
Crookston had a good start with Easton Tangquist making a three-pointer and after a TRF basket, he made a running shot through the lane and the Pirates led 5-2 over three minutes into the game.  The Prowlers responded with two baskets in the paint and two free throws to take an 8-5 lead.  Crookston’s Tangquist responded with a basket for his seventh point of the game to bring his team within an 8-7 deficit with 12:33 left in the half.  Thief River Falls used their stellar 2-3 zone defense combined with their quickness and length to shut down Crookston for the next 8:22 of the game while outscoring the Pirates 11-0 for a 19-7 lead with 4:11 left in the game. “We tried to go inside and couldn’t draw a foul.  When we did get to the free throw line we didn’t shoot them very well,” said Pirate Coach Greg Garmen. “We struggled offensively and got into some foul trouble and had to go to the bench.  We struggle when our starters are on the bench.”  Crookston stopped the run with a Brooks Butt free throw and after a TRF basket, Tangquist added a free throw but the Prowlers ended the half on a 12-0 run and took a 33-9 lead into halftime. 

SECOND HALF
Crookston had a decent start to the second half as Carter Bruggeman scored the first points of the half and after a TRF basket, he added two more to bring the Pirates within a 35-13 deficit.  Thief River Falls responded with a 15-0 run with about 11 minutes left in the game.  “They sprinted back and got some easy buckets,” said Coach Garmen. “We didn’t sprint back and they beat us to get some easy buckets, which hurt us too.”  A few minutes later, Crookston had a spark from sophomore forward Tristan Luckow who scored five straight points, and after a TRF basket hed added another basket for his seventh point in a three-minute span.  “Tristan turned it on and we need more of that,” said Coach Garmen. “He went inside and made some shots and made some free throws and that was nice to see.”  Thief River Falls continued to build on their lead and took a 60-24 lead with about seven minutes left in the game and that started running time.  Crookston’s Luckow added a couple of baskets in the final minutes and both teams emptied the benches and Thief River Falls won the game 68-34. “Thief River Falls is long, and quick and we aren’t quick,” said Coach Garmen. “We were trying to get shots off quicker than we wanted and that caused us to miss some shots too.”

Crookston drops to 1-3 on the year and will travel to Warroad on Thursday.  “Warroad has a good team again this year,” said Coach Garmen. “It will be a tough game up there.”  Thief River Falls improves to 3-2 on the year.